Benny Johnson, the former BuzzFeed viral politics editor fired in July for over 40 instances of plagiarism, has been hired by National Review as their social media editor. It is the first time the right-leaning publication has employed someone to oversee their social media presence.
National Review editor Rich Lowry, who hired Johnson for the new position, told Politico’s Playbook that Johnson had “surprisingly quick shot at redemption.” Previously, Johnson worked on Mitt Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign and wrote for conservative sites including The Blaze.
His new D.C.-based position will involve running National Review’s social media accounts and “giving advice” before eventually taking on creative responsibilities. “Benny made a terrible mistake. But he has owned up to it and learned from it. He's a talented journalist, with obviously a lot to contribute,” said Lowry. “He knows he's joining a storied institution at NR, and we look forward to his helping us carry on our mission across all platforms.”
National Review is one of the many publications that Johnson plagiarized, including The Guardian, Politico, The Washington Post and Yahoo! Answers. So why did the National Review just hire someone who cribbed pieces from their site without attributing their original authors? The publication has yet to issue a statement or comment about Johnson outside the Politico interview, but the former BuzzFeed editor's recent explosive exposure certainly helps. The media storm following Johnson’s plagiarism scandal made him practically a household name, and National Review has perhaps equated Johnson's recent notoriety with credibility.
The media world waits with bated breath to see what Johnson does with his “creative work” assignment at National Review.
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