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New York Magazine Fires Columnist Ross Barkan for Plagiarism

8/20/2026

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Summary

Ross Barkan Fired

New York Magazine terminated political columnist Ross Barkan after uncovering 67 plagiarized columns.
Drew Harwell of The Washington Post first flagged plagiarism by noting similarities in Barkan’s lede.
NPR reporter Bobby Allyn identified additional instances, leading to the four-month review that resulted in dismissal.
Penguin Random House suspended the October release of Barkan’s book about Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Summary

Barkan Interviews

Barkan interviewed over two dozen people, including Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon, for his book.
The book was promoted as a “deeply reported window” into Mamdani’s campaign and early mayoral tenure.
Despite retailer removal, archived copies of the book’s pages stayed accessible online.
Barkan marketed the volume on Substack, targeting both skeptics of Mamdani and readers expecting partisan praise.

History

Historical Context

The 2003 Jayson Blair plagiarism scandal forced NY Times executive editor Bill Keller to accept Blair’s resignation, led to 36 story retractions and a 5 % circulation dip, and prompted the creation of a public editor role and tighter editorial policies. Those reforms spurred the adoption of digital plagiarism detectors, which today helped expose Ross Barkan’s plagiarism and led New York Magazine to dismiss him.

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Ross Barkan Fired

New York Magazine terminated political columnist Ross Barkan after uncovering 67 plagiarized columns.
Drew Harwell of The Washington Post first flagged plagiarism by noting similarities in Barkan’s lede.
NPR reporter Bobby Allyn identified additional instances, leading to the four-month review that resulted in dismissal.
Penguin Random House suspended the October release of Barkan’s book about Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

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