New York Magazine severs ties with writer Ross Barkan, updates 67 columns following plagiarism probe

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New York Magazine announced Friday it has severed ties with columnist Ross Barkan after launching an investigation into plagiarism allegations.

“After an independent editorial review, New York found that Ross Barkan did not adhere to our editorial standards, and we have updated 67 columns that did not include proper attribution of language, information, and/or sourcing,” the publication said in a statement obtained by Semafor. “We have updated our archives to include proper attribution in all of the stories that our review found previously inadequate, noting that those updates were made, and are committed to addressing any other instances that come to light.”

“Upon conclusion of the review, we have determined that we will no longer publish his column. We regret that this work did not live up to our editorial standards, and apologize to the writers whose work was not properly attributed,” the magazine added.

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Barkan wrote, “We’ve decided to end the column and I send all the best to New York Magazine. In the course of nearly 250 pieces, there were times I should have been more careful with citation. I’m sorry about these errors and will work to do better, more careful in the future.”

Barkan also teased a new column he plans to launch in September.

Vox Media, New York Magazine’s parent company, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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The controversy began in May when Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell accused Barkan of lifting from his report about conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and his outlet The Daily Wire for one of his columns.

After Harwell highlighted the similarities between the two articles, New York Magazine updated its piece with an editor’s note offering credit to the Washington Post, though Harwell explained he wasn’t “entirely sure what happened.”

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NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn found additional examples of what appeared to be Barkan lifting similar phrases and descriptions from The Intercept and Compact Magazine on other reports.

“The paragraphs in question are summarizing the historical background or context of the stories, with some instances containing the same 30 words in a row, or near identical passages with a word or phrase slightly tweaked,” Allyn wrote.

Barkan was initially defiant in response to critics, telling Fox News Digital at the time he “did not plagiarize anyone” and “[a]ll of this is ridiculous.”

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Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.

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