Benny Johnson
Johnson in 2022
Born (1987-05-27) May 27, 1987
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Iowa
OccupationColumnist

Benny Johnson is an American political commentator[1] and YouTuber.[2] He was a staff writer at BuzzFeed until he was fired following revelations that many of his published articles were plagiarized. Johnson later worked at various conservative outlets.

Early life and education

Johnson grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended the University of Iowa, majoring in developmental psychology in 2009.

Career

In 2010, Johnson began contributing opinion pieces to the opinion website Breitbart. In 2011, he was hired as a full-time worker for conservative media website TheBlaze.[3]

Johnson speaking at the 2014 International Students for Liberty Conference in Washington, D.C.

In 2012, Johnson became a staff writer at BuzzFeed.[4] In July 2014, BuzzFeed found 41 instances of plagiarism in Johnson's writings, comprising almost ten percent of his work. He was subsequently fired from BuzzFeed and apologized for the plagiarism.[5]

In September 2014, Johnson became digital director at the National Review (NR).[6]

In 2015, Johnson joined the Independent Journal Review (IJR) as a creative content contributor.[6] Later that year, the IJR staffers accused him of plagiarizing an article about then-House Republican Conference chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers.[7]

In March 2017, Johnson was suspended by the IJR after his involvement in an article which asserted that judge Derrick Watson's partial blocking of Executive Order 13780 was connected to former president Barack Obama's visit to Hawaii. Johnson had been warned that the IJR could potentially be promoting a conspiracy theory, but assigned the story anyway.[7][8] That same month, Johnson was reported to have been verbally abusive and driven numerous staffers away from the IJR due to his management style;[8] he was subsequently demoted.[9]

In August 2017, Johnson wrote an article containing the most controversial tweets of what he thought was the Boston antifa Twitter account, but what was a fake account intended to lampoon antifa. Initially an editorial note was added, and the article was later removed.[10][11][12]

A month after his relationship with the IJR was terminated in October 2017,[9] Johnson joined The Daily Caller.[13][14][15] In 2019, he became a chief creative officer at Turning Point USA.[16] In 2020, Johnson was a host on Newsmax TV.[17][18]

References

  1. ↑ ""Fauci anklagen": Twitter-Chef knöpft sich US-Chefvirologen vor". Der Tagesspiegel Online.
  2. ↑ Sato, Mia (July 13, 2023). "Twitter says it will start paying creators this week". Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  3. ↑ Terris, Ben (June 9, 2015). "Benny Johnson got fired at BuzzFeed. You will believe what happened next". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  4. ↑ Rothstein, Betsy (December 18, 2012). "For a Fun Time at D.C. Buzzfeed, Call Benny". Ad Week. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  5. ↑ "BuzzFeed fires Benny Johnson for plagiarism". Politico. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Gold, Hadas (February 3, 2015). "IJReview hires Benny Johnson". Politico. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Mullin, Benjamin (March 21, 2017). "Report: Benny Johnson was accused of plagiarism (again)". Poynter. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  8. 1 2 Darcy, Oliver (March 21, 2017). "Inside the identity crisis at the Independent Journal Review, the outlet that has become a powerhouse in the Trump era". Business Insider. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  9. 1 2 Fischer, Sara (October 20, 2017). "Scoop: Benny Johnson out at Independent Journal Review". Axios. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  10. ↑ Feldman, Brian (August 21, 2017). "How to Spot a Fake Antifa Account". Intelligencer. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  11. ↑ Montgomery, Blake (September 7, 2017). "Here's A Guide To The Antifa Network That's Trying To Solidify A Nazi-Punching Movement". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  12. ↑ Chiel, Ethan (August 22, 2017). "Right Wing Publications Can't Stop Getting Duped By Fake Antifa Accounts". GQ. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  13. ↑ Calderone, Michael (November 17, 2017). "Moore's anti-media campaign -- Big deal frenzy -- Fixing mass shootings coverage -- Vanity Fair 'panic' -- WaPo expands media desk". Politico. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  14. ↑ Nwanevu, Osita (November 17, 2017). "Today in Conservative Media: Mike Pence Was Right About Being Alone With Women". Slate Magazine. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  15. ↑ Darcy, Oliver. "Reliable Sources with Oliver Darcy: Tuesday, May 2, 2023". CNN. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  16. ↑ Concha, Joe (February 6, 2019). "Daily Caller reporter Benny Johnson joining Turning Point USA". The Hill. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  17. ↑ Petrizzo, Zachary (November 22, 2020). "Newsmax's Benny Johnson Claims President-Elect Office Is a 'Fake Office' Made For Biden (Nope, Trump Did It Too)". Mediaite. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  18. ↑ Folkenflik, David (November 30, 2020). "Newsmax rises on wave of resentment towards media — especially Fox News". NPR. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
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