Johann Hari is an award winning British journalist who has been a columnist at
The IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, the
The Huffington PostThe Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
, and contributed to several other publications. In 2011, Hari was accused of
plagiarismPlagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
; he subsequently was suspended from The Independent and surrendered his 2008
Orwell PrizeThe Orwell Prize used to be regarded as the pre-eminent British prize for political writing.Three prizes are awarded each year: one for a book, one for journalism and another for blogging...
. Hari publicly apologised both for the plagiarism and for making Wikipedia edits, using a pseudonym, to attack his critics, and has said that he plans to undergo training in journalism ethics.
Early life
Hari was born in
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and raised in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He attended
John Lyon SchoolThe John Lyon School is an academically selective independent boys' school in Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex. The school was founded in 1876 by the Governors of Harrow School for the education of local boys, in belated keeping with the wishes of that school's founder, from whom the school takes its...
, (an
independent schoolAn independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
affiliated to
Harrow SchoolHarrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
) and then
Woodhouse CollegeWoodhouse College is a single site state sixth form college situated between North Finchley and Friern Barnet on the eastern side of the London Borough of Barnet...
, a state sixth-form. He graduated from
King's College, CambridgeKing's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
in 2001 with a double first in Social and Political Sciences.
Career
In 2000 he was joint winner of The Times Student News Journalist of the Year award for his work on the Cambridge student newspaper
VarsityVarsity is the oldest of Cambridge University's main student newspapers. It has been published continuously since 1947, and is one of only three fully independent student newspapers in the UK. It appears every Friday around Cambridge...
. After university he joined the New Statesman, where he worked between 2001 and 2003, and then wrote two columns a week for The Independent. At the 2003 Press Gazette Awards, he won Young Journalist of the Year.
A play by Hari, Going Down in History, was performed at the Garage Theatre in
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, and his book God Save the Queen? was published by Icon Books in 2002.
Political views
Hari has declared his sympathy with the
environmental movementThe environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
,
republicanismRepublicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
, and a number of classical
liberalLiberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
positions, such as drug legalisation and gay rights. He has described himself as a secularist and atheist.
Hari supported the
2003 invasion of IraqThe 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, based on a visit to Iraq in December 2002 and a March 2003 story by Kenneth Joseph. In 2006 he reversed his position, to oppose the war.
Journalistic controversy
In June/July 2011 Hari was accused of plagiarism in his use of unattributed quotations in interviews, where he had reused previously published quotes in place of his interviewees' recorded answers. The
Orwell PrizeThe Orwell Prize used to be regarded as the pre-eminent British prize for political writing.Three prizes are awarded each year: one for a book, one for journalism and another for blogging...
, which he had won in 2008, was withdrawn following a comparison between one of the articles for which he won the award and the original
Der SpiegelDer Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
article on which it was based. He was also shown to have been making misleading edits on Wikipedia under a pseudonym. Hari apologised for his actions, although that apology was publicly criticised.
Plagiarism
Problems with Hari's journalism were first publicized by the magazine
Private EyePrivate Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
in 2003. In 2011 bloggers DSG and Brian Whelan highlighted his plagiarism by comparing Hari's interviews with previous interviews by other journalists and previous written works by his interview subjects. The story was taken up by The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Washington Post.
Initially Hari said on his blog that he had taken material previously written by interviewees and presented it as part of the interview, but said that this was not plagiarism as he was not passing off someone else's thoughts as his own. Later, both on his blog and in The Independent, Hari said his use of unattributed quotes was only a clarification. Reviewing this defence, The Guardians media law consultant focused on copyright issues. The newspaper's former editor,
Peter PrestonPeter John Preston is a British journalist and author. He was educated at Loughborough Grammar School and St John's College, Oxford, where he edited the student paper Cherwell...
, wrote that Hari had been foolish, but not dishonest as his attackers alleged.
Simon KelnerSimon Kelner is a British journalist and newspaper editor. Kelner was editor-in-chief of The Independent and Independent on Sunday newspapers. He was appointed in May 1998 to succeed Andrew Marr and Rosie Boycott and ended his tenure in 2008...
, then editor-in-chief of The Independent, said on 28 June that the newspaper had not previously received any complaints about Johann Hari. In July 2011, Hari was suspended from The Independent for two months "pending investigation" by
Andreas Whittam SmithAndreas Whittam Smith CBE is an English financial journalist, who was one of the founders of The Independent newspaper which began publication in October 1986 with Whittam Smith as editor...
.
- Brian Whelan, editor of Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
Ireland, compared Hari's 2010 interview with Gideon LevyGideon Levy is an Israeli journalist.Levy writes opinion pieces and a weekly column for the newspaper Haaretz that often focus on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories...
against Levy's previous writing.
- Guy Walters
Guy Walters is a British author and journalist.-Life and career:Guy Walters was born in Kensington, London. A descendant of Richard Harris Barham and Edward Augustus Bond, he was educated at Cheam School, Eton College, Westfield College, University of London , and is studying for a PhD in history...
in the New StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
compared Hari's 2006 interview with Hugo ChávezHugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
with earlier interviews with Chavez by other journalists.
- Other interviews with Malalai Joya
Malalai Joya is an activist, writer and a former politician from Afghanistan. She served as a Parliamentarian in the National Assembly of Afghanistan from 2005 until early 2007, after being dismissed for publicly denouncing the presence of what she considered to be warlords and war criminals in...
, with Ann LeslieDame Ann Elizabeth Mary Leslie DBE is a British journalist who writes for the Daily Mail.-Education:...
, with George MichaelGeorge Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
, and with Gareth ThomasGareth Thomas , known as Alfie, is a retired Welsh professional rugby footballer who played rugby league for the Crusaders RL in the Super League. He also previously played rugby union for the Cardiff Blues and as a fullback, wing or centre.On 26 May 2007, Thomas surpassed Gareth Llewellyn as the...
were also shown to have used misattributed quotations copied from earlier works and other interviews.
Orwell Prize withdrawal
In June 2011, the
Media Standards TrustThe Media Standards Trust was formed in 2006 to address concerns of a deterioration in journalistic standards at a time when the media were becoming enormously powerful while remaining largely opaque and unaccountable...
announced that they recognised the potential of allegations of plagiarism to damage the reputation of the
Orwell PrizeThe Orwell Prize used to be regarded as the pre-eminent British prize for political writing.Three prizes are awarded each year: one for a book, one for journalism and another for blogging...
, which Hari had been awarded in 2008, and instructed the Council of the Orwell Prize to take action to examine the allegations. A month later the spokesman for the Council of the Orwell Prize announced that it had "arrived at a clear and unanimous decision" as to whether Hari would be allowed to retain the prize he had been awarded in 2008. Public announcement was delayed after the Independent had "requested that the council consider further representations by Johann Hari before announcing the decision". which could not be made while the Independent inquiry was ongoing.
In July 2011, both
Private EyePrivate Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
and
Damian ThompsonDamian Thompson is a British journalist, author and blogger.Thompson was educated at Presentation College, Reading, and read history at Mansfield College, Oxford University. He received his Ph.D in the sociology of religion from the London School of Economics for a thesis on the management of...
in his blog at
The TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
accused Hari of inventing an atrocity for his Orwell Prize winning article on the
Central African RepublicThe Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
.
In September 2011, Johann Hari announced that, though he stood by the articles which won the Orwell prize in 2008, he would be returning it as an act of contrition for the errors he had made elsewhere. The return of the plaque by courier was confirmed by the Council of the Orwell Prize. Later the Council confirmed that the Orwell Prize would have been withdrawn had Hari not returned it, because after reviewing one particular article, 'How multiculturalism is betraying women’: "The Council concluded that the article contained inaccuracies and conflated different parts of someone else’s story (specifically, a report in Der Spiegel). The Council ruled that the substantial use of unattributed and unacknowledged material did not meet the standards expected of Orwell Prize-winning journalism." The council also disclosed that Hari had not returned the prize money he received of 2000 pounds.
Wikipedia editing
In July 2011
New StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
legal correspondent
David Allen GreenDavid Allen Green is an English lawyer and writer. He is also legal correspondent for the New Statesman; and blogs as "Jack of Kent"....
wrote on his personal blog that in January 2005 a Wikipedia user had discovered that a Wikipedia editor, David Rose, using the
sockpuppetA sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception. The term—a reference to the manipulation of a simple hand puppet made from a sock—originally referred to a false identity assumed by a member of an internet community who spoke to, or about himself while pretending to be another...
account 'David r from meth productions' shared an
IP addressAn Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
with The Independent newspaper. On the same day
Nick CohenNick Cohen is a British journalist, author and political commentator. He is currently a columnist for The Observer, a blogger for The Spectator and TV critic for Standpoint magazine. He formerly wrote for the London Evening Standard and the New Statesman...
in
The SpectatorThe Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
wrote that he had been attacked on Wikipedia by David Rose following a dispute with Johann Hari, as had
Cristina OdoneCristina Patricia Odone is a journalist, editor, and writer living in the United Kingdom. She has written for several newspapers, and was formerly the editor of The Catholic Herald, and deputy editor of the New Statesman.- Career :...
,
TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
columnist and
Oliver KammOliver Kamm is a British writer and journalist. He wrote Anti-Totalitarianism: The Left-wing Case for a Neoconservative Foreign Policy , an advocacy of interventionism in foreign policy....
, the
TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
leader writer. Cohen also wrote that Hari's own Wikipedia entry was edited by Rose "to make him seem one of the essential writers of our times".
In September 2011 "David Rose" was shown to be Johann Hari.
Apology
The Independent reported in September 2011 that "Johann Hari, the writer and columnist for The Independent, has admitted plagiarism allegations and will attend a journalism training course before being allowed to rejoin the newspaper" but that the results of the investigation by Whittam Smith are not to be made public. The editor of The Independent,
Chris BlackhurstChris Blackhurst is a British newspaper editor.Born in Barrow-in-Furness, Chris's father, Don, is a former Conservative borough councillor of Bideford Gardens. Chris attended Barrow Grammar School after which he went on to study law at Trinity Hall, Cambridge before joining the staff of a legal...
, said that some aspects of Hari's journalism had fallen short of the publication's ethical standards, and that Hari had "acknowledged his mistakes and made a full apology."
Hari published an apology and admission of misconduct, and admitted to using a pseudonym to add positive material to the Wikipedia article about himself and negative material to Wikipedia articles about people he had disputes with. Hari said he would take unpaid personal leave of absence until 2012 and seek training in journalistic ethics at his own expense.
Criticism of apology
After Hari's apology was published, Cristina Odone, blogging for The Telegraph, said that neither she nor the other victims had received any direct apology from The Independent or from Hari himself for his malicious editing of their Wikipedia articles.
The published apology attracted a strongly worded critique from journalist
Toby YoungToby Young, MA, FRSA is a British journalist and the author of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, the tale of his stint in New York as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair magazine...
, who also criticized The Independent for failing to sack Hari. Simon Chivers, also in The Daily Telegraph, called the apology "evasive", while
Richard SeymourRichard Seymour is a British writer, activist and owner of the blog Lenin's Tomb. The author of The Liberal Defence of Murder and other books, Seymour was born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland to a Protestant family, and currently lives in London. He is a member of the Socialist Workers Party...
wrote in The Guardian that the apology was "self-serving" and that Hari had acknowledged "none of the serious charges made against him..." . David Allen Green in the New Statesman wrote: "the terms of the apology do not really approximate to what was actually done. Something very wrong happened, over a significant amount of time, involving a systemic exercise of malice and dishonesty".
Awards
- "Environmental Commentator of the Year" at the Comment Awards 2010
- Newspaper Journalist of the Year at Amnesty International Awards 2010
- Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism
The Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, named for the renowned war correspondent, Martha Gellhorn, was established in 1999 by the Martha Gellhorn Trust. It is founded on the following principles:...
2010
- Journalist of the Year at the Stonewall Awards
The Stonewall Awards is an annual event to celebrate people who have had a positive impact on the lives of British LGBT people. The event was first held in 2006 at the Royal Academy of Arts and from 2007 were held at the Victoria and Albert Museum.-2006:...
, 2009
- Cultural Commentator of the Year at the Comment Awards, 2009
- Author of Story of the Year at the Environmental Press Awards 2008
- The Orwell Prize
The Orwell Prize used to be regarded as the pre-eminent British prize for political writing.Three prizes are awarded each year: one for a book, one for journalism and another for blogging...
for political journalism, 2008, withdrawn 2011
- Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
Newspaper Journalist of the Year in 2007
- 'Young Journalist of the Year' at the British Press Awards
The British Press Awards is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. Established in the 1970s, honours are voted on by a panel of journalists and newspaper executives...
in 2003
- 'Student News Journalist of the Year' by The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in 2000
External links