New York Mag fires writer for 67 instances of plagiarism

The prestigious New York Magazine has fired political writer Ross Barkan for plagiarism in 67 separate pieces of work, The New York Post has confirmed.

Barkan is widely recognised as one of the biggest journalist supporters of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Before he became mayor, Mamdani served as campaign manager for Barkan’s failed state senate campaign, a fact the writer often publicly notes.

New York Magazine recently undertook a review of the wrier's work in May when a Washington Post reporter noticed many similarities between one of his stories and the article Barkan wrote on the same topic.

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Barkan fired for plagiarism

New York Magazine said in a statement to The Post that it found 67 Barkan columns “that did not include proper attribution of language, information and/or sourcing.”

The publication said it was updating stories with correct citations, and is “committed to addressing any other instances that come to light.”

“Upon conclusion of the review, we have determined that we will no longer publish his column,” the statement added.

“We regret that his work did not live up to our editorial standards, and apologize to the writers whose work was not appropriately attributed.”

The story first attracted attention when technology reporter Bobby Allyn spoke out in May.

A post on X from May 16, 2026

Then, Drew Harwell at The Washington Post found that Barkan had copied from his recent story about influencer Ben Shapiro.

“I have written hundreds upon hundreds of columns, essays, and pieces of journalism in my career,” Barkan said in response back then. “I stand by my record.”

However, Barkan seems to accept responsibility now. In his own recent statement to The Post, he said:

“We’ve decided to end the column and I send all the best to New York Magazine.

“In the course of nearly 250 pieces, there were times I should have been more careful with my citation,” he conceded.

“I’m sorry about these errors and will work to do better, more careful work in the future.”