Ex-New York Magazine Writer Taking Time to ‘Self-Reflect’ After Probe Finds Dozens of Instances of Plagiarism

Screenshot via The Honest Broker podcast

Former New York Magazine columnist Ross Barkan apologized Wednesday after being accused of dozens of instances of plagiarism.

Barkan released a statement on social media following New York Magazine’s announcement they’d severed ties with him, and updated more than 60 of his columns.

Barkan said he was “truly sorry:”

Let me begin by saying I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry for the mistakes I made. None of them, genuinely, were willful or intentional. In the course of writing many columns a week, I did not use citations as aggressively as I should have and did not paraphrase well enough. I never intended to crib anyone’s work. I promise all of you that. I recognize, though, how I failed. I am sorry to the journalists whose work I did not properly cite.

I’m going take some time away and self-reflect. I promise to do a much better job going forward.

Barkan’s apology also follows Penguin Random House suspending promotion and sales of Barkan’s upcoming book about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D). The book, titled The Revolutionary: Zohran Mamdani and the Remaking of American Politics, was scheduled to be published in October.

Barkan was accused of plagiarism in numerous stories, including a column on President Donald Trump’s “covert” operations in Venezuela and more.

NPR Correspondent Bobby Allyn reported in May that he ran Barkan’s work through an AI model to see if material was lifted — finding multiple examples — after seeing Barkan “pilfering” a report on Ben Shapiro from The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell.

Barkan was accused by Harwell of basically copying his first two paragraphs as well as his reporting. That story was then updated by New York Magazine to include credit for The Washington Post.

Barkan’s upcoming Mamdani book, which retailers like Walmart, Target, and Barnes & Noble have stopped selling, was set to be a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Mamdani’s mayoral campaign and his initial days in office.

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