Ross Barkan, a columnist for New York Magazine, faces serious accusations of plagiarism, instigating an internal investigation into his past work. The controversy began when Drew Harwell, a reporter from the Washington Post, accused Barkan of copying material from his May 9 article about Ben Shapiro for another piece on Shapiro’s business. Following Harwell’s identification of similarities between the two articles, New York Magazine updated its article, crediting the Washington Post, though Harwell remained uncertain about the situation.
The issue gained further traction when NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn discovered additional instances where Barkan allegedly replicated similar phrases from articles in The Intercept and Compact Magazine. Allyn stated that some summaries had identical or near-identical passages, with some containing up to 30 words in sequence.
In response, New York Magazine announced a review of Barkan’s prior work due to these claims. Barkan defended his work to Fox News Digital, insisting he did not plagiarize and dismissing the allegations as absurd. He expressed his discontent with Allyn’s reporting on social media, criticizing the approach taken in seeking his comment late at night.
Barkan pointed out his extensive publication history, mentioning 150 columns over the last year between Crain’s and New York Magazine, highlighting the relatively few stories under scrutiny. He critiqued the media’s focus on social media trends and deemed the allegations an overblown controversy.
Harwell maintained his stance, reiterating his belief that Barkan copied his introductory paragraph. Compact Magazine’s editor, Matthew Schmitz, agreed that Barkan plagiarized Juan David Rojas’s article, dismissing Barkan’s defense of linking to the source as insufficient.
Lindsay Kornick, an associate editor at Fox News Digital, covered the story and is open to receiving news tips.