Benny Johnson (journalist)

Benny Arthur Johnson (born May 27, 1987) is an American political columnist, currently serving as chief creative officer at conservative organization Turning Point USA.[1] Johnson first rose to prominence as an editor at BuzzFeed, until it was revealed that many of his published articles were plagiarized and he was fired.[2][3]

Benny Johnson
Johnson in 2018
Born (1987-05-27) May 27, 1987
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Iowa (BA)
OccupationColumnist

Benny Johnson is currently the host of The Benny Report on NewsMax TV.[4][5]

Early life and education

Johnson grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and attended the University of Iowa. He graduated with a degree in developmental psychology in 2009.[6][7]

Career
Benny Johnson speaking at the 2014 International Students for Liberty Conference (ISFLC) in Washington, D.C.

In 2010, Johnson began contributing opinion pieces to the opinion website Breitbart. In 2011 he was hired as a full-time worker for Glenn Beck's The Blaze, a conservative media website.[3] In 2012, Johnson became an editor at BuzzFeed.[6]

In July 2014, BuzzFeed found 41 instances of plagiarism in Johnson's writings, comprising almost ten percent of his work. Given the rampant plagiarism, Benny’s credibility as a journalist is often questioned and he has largely been relegated to working for conservative outlets. He was subsequently fired from BuzzFeed and apologized for the plagiarism.[2] A few weeks later, he became digital director at National Review Online.[8]

In 2015, a few months after he was hired by National Review, he joined the Independent Journal Review (IJR) as the creative content director.[8] Later that year, IJR staffers accused Johnson of plagiarizing an article about then-House Republican Conference chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers.[9] In late 2017, Johnson wrote an article containing the most controversial tweets of what he thought was the Boston antifa Twitter account. This was a very obvious fake account intended to lampoon antifa. Initially an editorial note was added, and the article was later removed.[10][11][12]

In 2017, Johnson was suspended by the IJR after Johnson's 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.[9][13] Later that year, Johnson was demoted for violating IJR's company ethics; Business Insider reported that Johnson had been verbally abusive and driven numerous staffers away from the IJR due to his management style.[13] Johnson and Independent Journal Review's relationship was terminated in October 2017.[14]

Johnson joined The Daily Caller in November 2017.[15][16]

References
  1. Concha, Joe (2019-02-06). "Daily Caller reporter Benny Johnson joining Turning Point USA". TheHill. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  2. "BuzzFeed fires Benny Johnson for plagiarism". Politico. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  3. Terris, Ben (2015-06-09). "Benny Johnson got fired at BuzzFeed. You will believe what happened next". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  4. Petrizzo, Zachary (2020-11-22). "Newsmax's Benny Johnson Claims President-Elect Office Is a 'Fake Office' Made For Biden (Nope, Trump Did It Too)". Mediaite. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  5. Folkenflik, David (2020-11-30). "Newsmax rises on wave of resentment towards media — especially Fox News". NPR. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  6. Rothstein, Betsy (2012-12-18). "For a Fun Time at D.C. Buzzfeed, Call Benny". Ad Week. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
  7. "Find your inner scientist: Benny Johnson at TEDxUIowa". YouTube. 2013-12-07. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
  8. "IJReview hires Benny Johnson". POLITICO. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  9. "Report: Benny Johnson was accused of plagiarism (again)". Poynter. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  10. Feldman, Brian (21 August 2017). "How to Spot a Fake Antifa Account". Intelligencer. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  11. Montgomery, Blake (7 September 2017). "Here's A Guide To The Antifa Network That's Trying To Solidify A Nazi-Punching Movement". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  12. Chiel, Ethan (22 August 2017). "Right Wing Publications Can't Stop Getting Duped By Fake Antifa Accounts". GQ. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  13. Oliver Darcy (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 2020-03-23.
  14. Fischer, Sara (October 20, 2017). "Scoop: Benny Johnson out at Independent Journal Review". Axios. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  15. Calderone, Michael (2017-11-17). "Moore's anti-media campaign -- Big deal frenzy -- Fixing mass shootings coverage -- Vanity Fair 'panic' -- WaPo expands media desk". Politico. Retrieved 2017-11-18.
  16. Nwanevu, Osita (2017-11-17). "Today in conservative media: Mike Pence was right about being alone with women". Slate. Retrieved 2017-11-18.
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