Former New York Magazine Columnist Takes Break Following Plagiarism Investigation

Ross Barkan, a former columnist at New York Magazine and current editor-in-chief of The Metropolitan Review, issued an apology Wednesday and announced plans to take an extended hiatus for personal reflection. In a statement posted to social media, Barkan acknowledged failing to properly attribute sources and paraphrase material in his published work while denying any intentional misconduct on his part.

Barkan stated he wrote multiple columns weekly and did not apply citations with sufficient rigor, nor did he adequately rephrase borrowed content. He expressed remorse to journalists whose contributions he failed to properly credit and pledged to improve his practices moving forward. The writer did not specify whether he intends to maintain his position at The Metropolitan Review.

The plagiarism allegations surfaced in May when Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell identified similarities between Barkan’s column about conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and The Daily Wire with Harwell’s original reporting. New York Magazine subsequently added an editor’s note crediting The Washington Post, though Harwell expressed uncertainty about the circumstances.

NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn uncovered additional instances of comparable language in Barkan’s articles that appeared to draw from The Intercept and Compact Magazine. Barkan initially dismissed the accusations before New York Magazine launched an independent review and determined he had violated editorial citation standards across 67 columns.

New York Magazine announced Friday it would terminate its relationship with Barkan following the investigation. The publication stated it had updated its archives with proper attribution and remained committed to addressing any additional instances discovered.