Ross Barkan, the reporter who wrote a hit piece on The Daily Wire and then came under investigation for plagiarism, hired Zohran Mamdani to manage his failed state Senate campaign in 2018.
The left-wing writer appears torn between journalism and political activism, drawing ideological inspiration from democratic socialist Mayor Mamdani.
“I met him at the end of 2017 when I was <a href="https://medium.com/@RossBarkan/why-im-running-for-office-f7593c2a1615">running for state Senate</a> in New York City, in Brooklyn, where I grew up. I was strongly contemplating pivoting from journalism to running for office,” <a href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/ross-barkan-on-zohran-mamdani-arresting-netanyahu-and-where-dsa-goes-from-here">Barkan told Current Events,</a> a magazine about politics and culture. 
Barkan, who unsuccessfully ran for a New York state office in 2018, highlighted the influence Mamdani had as his campaign manager.
“It was a progressive campaign. It was one that was proudly pro-Palestine, certainly — and I was willing to campaign in mosques and court the neighborhood’s Arab community, which few politicians were willing to do. And so for all those reasons, he hopped on board, and the rest, in its own way, was history,” Barkan said. 
“We got to know each other quite well that summer,” he said.   
Despite receiving the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Barkan <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Ross_Barkan">lost the September 13th Democratic primary</a> by double digits. 
New York Magazine is investigating writer Barkan for plagiarism after he seemingly copied his lede paragraph from another publication, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ross-barkan-new-york-magazine-npr-plagiarism-investigation?author=The+Daily+Wire&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=161&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Reporter+Behind+Anti-Daily+Wire+Hit+Piece+Now+Facing+Plagiarism+Investigation">The Daily Wire previously reported.</a> 
Following publication of the story, Drew Harwell took to social media to complain that Barkan’s lede was strikingly similar to one he had written days earlier.
Following the backlash, New York Magazine updated Barkan’s story to credit Drew Harwell, a move that appeared to concede the overlap. NPR later reported at least two other cases in which Barkan allegedly stole paragraphs from The Intercept and Compact Magazine.
New York Magazine spokesperson Lauren Starke <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/05/17/nx-s1-5824503/new-york-magazine-review-ross-barkan">told NPR</a> that the magazine is “conducting a review of the writer’s prior work.”
Instead of disputing the plagiarism accusations, Barkan argued online that attribution justified his use of others’ material.
“I am allowed, as a columnist building on *his* reporting, to cite facts. Especially when he’s credited,” Barkan said of the Compact Magazine incident.
“I have written hundreds upon hundreds of columns, essays, and pieces of journalism in my career. I stand by my record,” he said in a statement to NPR, adding that this is “all quite ridiculous.”

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Scandal-Plagued Journo Who Wrote Hit Piece On Daily Wire Has Old Ties To Mamdani

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Scandal-Plagued Journo Who Wrote Hit Piece On Daily Wire Has Old Ties To Mamdani