New York Magazine has fired lefty political writer Ross Barkan, one of the biggest boosters of Mayor Zohran Mamdani in NYC journalism, for ripping off other authors’ work a shocking 67 times.
Prior to becoming mayor, Mamdani served as campaign manager for Barkan’s failed state senate campaign, a fact the writer frequently mentioned on his Substack and other platforms.
New York Magazine – which recently came under fire for an anti-Israel cover story – launched a review of Barkan’s work after a Washington Post reporter noticed striking similarities between the lead of one of his stories and the lead Barkan wrote about the same subject in May.
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 those pieces with proper attribution 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,” NY Mag 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.”
After the Washington Post writer first blew the whistle on Barkan, NPR unearthed additional plagiarism allegations, drawing an angry denial from Barkan.
The firing was a humiliating blow to the writer, who regularly heaped praise on Mamdani in pieces in high-brow lefty publications, calling the mayor’s 2025 election victory “seismic” in The Nation.
The ink-stained wretch voiced regret over the rip-offs — a cardinal sin in journalism — though he appeared to portray the firing as a mutual decision by him and New York Magazine.
“We’ve decided to end the column and I send all the best to New York Magazine,” Barkan said in a statement to The Post.
“In the course of nearly 250 pieces, there were times I should have been more careful with my citation,” he added. “I’m sorry about these errors and will work to do better, more careful work in the future.”
He also plugged his work for The Nation.
“I am, at a more considered pace, writing a new column for The Nation,” Barkan said.
The Post has asked The Nation if it will continue to employ him in light of the stunning revelations.
His writing career includes bylines in the New York Times, and both fiction and non-fiction books.
He previously said he has a forthcoming book on Mamdani, who was Barkan’s campaign manager in his 2018 run for a Queens seat in the New York State Senate.
