New York Magazine has terminated its relationship with columnist Ross Barkan following an editorial review that uncovered plagiarism concerns. The magazine announced Friday that an independent review found Barkan did not meet its editorial standards, leading to updates in 67 of his published columns.
These updates were made to include proper attribution of language, information, and sourcing that were previously lacking. The publication stated it has updated its archives to reflect these corrections and is committed to addressing any further instances that may arise. In its statement, New York Magazine expressed regret that the work did not meet its standards and apologized to writers whose work was not properly attributed.
Barkan, in a statement, acknowledged that in the course of his nearly 250 published pieces for the magazine, there were times he should have been more careful with citation. He expressed remorse for these errors and stated his intention to be more meticulous in the future. Barkan also indicated plans to launch a new column in September.
The controversy began in May when Drew Harwell, a reporter for The Washington Post, accused Barkan of lifting content from his report on conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and his outlet, The Daily Wire. Following Harwell's claims, New York Magazine updated its article to credit The Washington Post, although Harwell noted he was not entirely certain of the circumstances.
NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn also identified additional examples where Barkan appeared to use similar phrases and descriptions from The Intercept and Compact Magazine in other reports. Allyn observed that these passages often summarized historical context and sometimes contained identical or nearly identical sequences of words.
Initially, Barkan defended himself against the accusations, telling Fox News Digital that he had not plagiarized anyone and characterized the allegations as "ridiculous."