Johann Hari suddenly in much more trouble
The liberal UK journalist, accused of plagiarism, is now said to have invented a key part of an award-winning story
Topics: Media Criticism, England, Plagiarism, War Room, Politics News
Back when Johann Hari was just accused of plagiarism, the scandal seemed survivable for the British celebrity lefty journalist. Hari was accused, basically, of regularly inserting quotations from outside sources into his “interviews” without citation. Which you’re not supposed to do, though the “rules,” in the U.K. newspaper world, are a bit lax. Now it looks suddenly a lot worse.
The Telegraph accuses Hari of inventing an atrocity in the story that won him the Orwell Prize. Hari took a trip to the Central African Republic in 2007, where he documented a covert French war being waged in support of a brutal dictator.
One of the most shocking claims: French soldiers told Hari that while serving in Rwanda, they were ordered not to help children who came to them holding their parents’ severed heads. But Hari’s translator said no one ever told Hari this. Here’s a section from an email she wrote to Hari in 2007:
Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene More Alex Pareene.
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