Johan Hari

Johann Eduard Hari (born 21 January 1979) is a British writer and journalist. Until 2011, Hari wrote for ''The Independent'', among other outlets, before resigning after admitting to plagiarism and fabrications dating from 2001 to 2011. Since then he has written books on technology, addiction, and medical policy, including 2022's ''Stolen Focus'', about technology and modern lifestyles' impact on attention spans and mental health, and 2015's ''Chasing the Scream'', about addiction and the war on drugs.

Early life

Hari was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to a Scottish mother and Swiss father, before his family relocated to London when he was an infant. Hari states he was physically abused in his childhood while his father was away and his mother was ill.

He attended the John Lyon School, an independent school affiliated with Harrow, and then Woodhouse College, a state sixth form in Finchley. Hari graduated from King's College, Cambridge, in 2001 with a double first in social and political sciences.

Early career

In 2000, Hari was joint winner of ''The Times'' Student News Journalist of the Year award for his work on the Cambridge student newspaper, '' Varsity''.

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 Edinburgh, and his book ''God Save the Queen?'' was published by Icon Books in 2002.

In addition to being a columnist for ''The Independent'', Hari's work also appeared in ''The Huffington Post'', ''The New York Times'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''The New Republic'', ''The Nation'', ''Le Monde'', ''El País'', ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', and ''Haaretz'', and he reported from locations around the world, such as Congo and Venezuela. He appeared regularly as an arts critic on the BBC Two programme ''The Review Show'' and was a book critic for ''Slate''. In 2009, he was named by ''The Daily Telegraph'' as one of the most influential people on the left in Britain.

2011 plagiarism, fabrication and misconduct scandal

Plagiarism

In June 2011 bloggers at ''Deterritorial Support Group'' and the ''Yahoo! Ireland'' editor Brian Whelan discovered that Hari had plagiarised material published in other interviews and writings by his interview subjects. For example, a 2009 interview with Afghan women's rights activist Malalai Joya included quotations from her book ''Raising My Voice'' in a manner that made them appear as if spoken directly to Hari. A piece entitled "How Multiculturalism Is Betraying Women" which Hari submitted when entering the Orwell Prize was plagiarised from ''Der Spiegel''. Hari initially denied any wrongdoing, stating that the unattributed quotes were for clarification and did not present someone else's thoughts as his own. He later admitted that his behaviour was "completely wrong" and that "when I interviewed people, I often presented things that had been said to other journalists or had been written in books as if they had been said to me, which was not truthful". Hari was suspended for two months from ''The Independent'' and in January 2012 it was announced that he was leaving the newspaper.

Hari also subsequently returned the Orwell Prize for journalism, which he had received in 2008, after the prize council examined his submitted work and concluded, "the article contained inaccuracies and conflated different parts of someone else's story."

Fabrication and misrepresentation

In one of the stories for which Hari won the Orwell Prize, he reported on atrocities in the Central African Republic, stating that French soldiers told him that "Children would bring us the severed heads of their parents and scream for help, but our orders were not to help them." However, an NGO worker who translated for Hari said that the quotation was invented and that Hari exaggerated the extent of the devastation in the CAR. In his apology after his plagiarism was exposed, Hari said that other staff of the NGO had supported his version of events.

In a 2010 article about military robots, Hari falsely claimed that former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi was attacked by a factory robot and was nearly killed. Hari also falsely claimed that a large globe erected for the Copenhagen climate summit was "covered with corporate logos" for McDonald's and Carlsberg, with "the Coke brand ... stamped over Africa."

Hari has been accused of misrepresenting writing by George Galloway, Eric Hobsbawm, Nick Cohen and Noam Chomsky.

Malicious editing of Wikipedia

In September 2011, Hari admitted that he had edited articles on Wikipedia about himself and journalists with whom he had had disputes. Using a sock puppet account under the name "David r from meth productions", he added false and defamatory claims to articles about journalists including Nick Cohen, Cristina Odone, Francis Wheen, Andrew Roberts, Niall Ferguson and Oliver Kamm, and edited the article about himself "to make him seem one of the essential writers of our times".

Hari used the fake identity "David Rose" to pretend to be an editor who was qualified in environmental science. This led to an investigation by the Wikipedia community and "David Rose" was blocked from Wikipedia. Hari published an apology in ''The Independent'', admitting that he had been "David Rose" and writing: "I edited the entries of people I had clashed with in ways that were juvenile or malicious: I called one of them anti-Semitic and homophobic, and the other a drunk. I am mortified to have done this, because it breaches the most basic ethical rule: don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you. I apologise to the latter group unreservedly and totally."

Use of libel law to suppress criticism

Hari has been accused of using threats of suing for libel to prevent critics from revealing his misrepresentations. British bloggers criticised his comments on Nick Cohen's ''What's Left: How Liberals Lost Their Way'' for factual and interpretive errors, and Hari subsequently used libel law against a blogger who wrote that "a reputation for making things up should spell career death", leading to the blogger removing the post in question.

Later career

''Chasing the Scream'' (2015)

Hari's 2015 book ''Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs'' critiques the global prohibition of illicit drugs. Hari argues that prohibition, drug laws, and the persecution of people who use drugs collectively do more harm to people and society than the drugs themselves. Hari posits that illicit drug use and most addictions are neither primarily character flaws nor genetic disorders, but rather responses to negative experiences and/or a lack of supportive relationships.

The book covers the history of drug prohibition, starting in early 20th-century America. Figures discussed in the book include jazz singer Billie Holiday, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics Harry J. Anslinger, and gangster Arnold Rothstein. With additional reporting on contemporary subjects, Hari advocates for decriminalization, harm reduction, and treatment as alternatives to punishment.

Hari delivered a presentation based on ''Chasing the Scream'' at the 2015 TED Conference.

Suzan-Lori Parks's screenplay for the 2021 drama film ''The United States vs. Billie Holiday'' was partly based on ''Chasing the Scream''. Hari was credited as a producer and co-writer.

Hari was an executive producer on the Roku Channel's 2022 eight-part documentary television series ''The Fix'', which was also adapted from ''Chasing the Scream''.

''Lost Connections'' (2018)

''Lost Connections'' discusses depression, anxiety, and related mental health issues, arguing in favor of the biopsychosocial model that these conditions are caused by a combination of chemical imbalances in the brain and in social, environmental, and psychological factors, such as access to meaningful work, proximity to friends and family, and past experiences with childhood trauma.

In the book Hari emphasises the importance of human connection in mental well-being. Hari attributes superficial interactions and increasing isolation to an increase in feelings of loneliness and disconnection, which can correlate with long-term conditions such as depression and anxiety. In the second half the book he discusses possible solutions to these mental health conditions, highlighting the importance of meaningful relationships, community involvement, and a sense of purpose in combating mental illness. Hari cites his own childhood issues, career challenges, and experiences with antidepressants and psychotherapy as the motivation for writing the book.

Hari emphasises that someone who is taking anti-depressant medications should not stop taking them without first seeking professional advice.

''Stolen Focus'' (2022)

Hari's 2022 book, ''Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention – and How to Think Deeply Again'' argues that people’s declining attention spans are not due to personal failings, but rather are the result of modern technology.

As with his previous books, ''Stolen Focus'' presents a mix of research, interviews, and first-person narrative. Hari identifies twelve factors which he says contribute to an "attention crisis". Examples include technology addictions such as social media, the increased prevalence of chronic stress, the decline of children's exposure to outdoor play and independent exploration, and the purported influence of ultra-processed foods on brain functions. Hari suggests that late-stage capitalism's emphasis on profits over human well-being is partly to blame. He criticizes the tech industry for designing products that exploit people to maximize engagement. ''Stolen Focus'' also discusses the impacts of sleep deprivation and the lack of opportunities for meaningful work. Hari calls for collective action and suggests a focus on societal changes, rather than personal action.

The book debuted at number seven on the ''New York Times'' nonfiction best-seller list for the week ending 12 February 2022. ''Stolen Focus'' was listed as one of the ''Financial Times "best books" of 2022. Psychologist Stuart J. Ritchie criticised ''Stolen Focus'' for over-relying on personal anecdotes while failing to cite strong evidence for the existence of shrinking attention spans. The ''Sydney Morning Herald'' recommended the book for people interested in the subject, while describing it as mostly a retelling of research already covered in other publications. Karlin Lillington, writing for the ''Irish Times'', praised ''Stolen Focus'' for being a more accessible companion to Shoshana Zuboff's work on surveillance capitalism, but says Hari sometimes goes too far in reducing complex topics to bullet points.

The writer Matthew Sweet investigated some of the statements in the book and found that Hari had failed to cite the primary sources for some studies, and misrepresented the results of studies that suggested multitasking could have benefits in certain conditions. Sweet called on the publisher to withdraw the book for misinterpreting its sources. An author of one of the papers Hari cited intervened to state that he was "not happy with misrepresentation of our results".

Hari responded by saying he had described the studies in question accurately.

''Magic Pill'' (2024)

''Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight Loss Drugs'', explores the development and rise in popularity of semaglutide medications for type 2 diabetes and obesity. The book focuses on the best-known of these medicines, Novo Nordisk’s brand-name Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss, but its findings are applicable to semaglutide drugs in general.

Both ''The Telegraph'' and ''Booklist'' gave positive reviews. Writing for ''The Guardian'', Tom Chivers criticised the use of references which did not support the book's claims, as well as scientific inaccuracies. A fact check by ''The Daily Telegraph'' found six examples of "errors, outdated data and disputed claims".

Other projects

As of 2018, Hari was working on a biography of Noam Chomsky.

Awards

* Student News Journalist of the Year by ''The Times'', 2000
* Young Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards, 2003
* Newspaper Journalist of the Year at Amnesty International Media Awards, 2007, for the article ''The Dark Side of Dubai''
* Author of ''Story of the Year'' at the Environmental Press Awards, 2008
* Orwell Prize for political journalism, 2008 (withdrawn 2011)
* Journalist of the Year at the Stonewall Awards, 2009
* Newspaper Journalist of the Year at Amnesty International Media Awards, 2010, for the article ''Congo's tragedy: The War the World Forgot''
* Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, 2010

See also

* Journalism scandals

Books

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* Johann Hari (2024). ''Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight Loss Drugs.'' Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-52667015.

References

External links

*

Articles about Johann Hari in ''The Guardian''

Articles for ''The Independent''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hari, Johann
1979 births
Living people
21st-century atheists
Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
British atheists
British LGBTQ journalists
British LGBTQ writers
Scottish male journalists
British people of Swiss descent
British republicans
British social democrats
British drug policy reform activists
British gay writers
Conflict-of-interest editing on Wikipedia
HuffPost writers and columnists
The Independent people
Journalistic hoaxes
Journalistic scandals
Journalists from London
People educated at The John Lyon School