Benny Johnson (columnist) explained

Benny Johnson (born May 27, 1987)^[3] is an American conservative political commentator^[4] and YouTuber.^[5]

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.^[6]

In 2012, Johnson became a staff writer at BuzzFeed.^[7] 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.^[8]

In September 2014, Johnson became digital director at the National Review (NR).^[9] In 2015, Johnson left NR to join the Independent Journal Review (IJR) as a creative content contributor. Later that year, the IJR staffers accused him of plagiarizing an article about then-House Republican Conference chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers.^[10]

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.^[11] That same month, Johnson was reported to have been verbally abusive and driven numerous staffers away from the IJR due to his management style; he was subsequently demoted.^[12]

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.^{[13] [14] [15]}

A month after his relationship with the IJR was terminated in October 2017, Johnson joined The Daily Caller.^{[16] [17] [18]} In 2019, he became a chief creative officer at Turning Point USA.^[19] In 2020, Johnson was a host on Newsmax TV.^{[20] [21]}

In August 2024, two Russian state media employees were charged with secretly funding almost $10 million to a Tennessee company for the production of political videos to benefit Russia by influencing the United States. The company's description matches that of Tenet Media, which had employed Johnson and other right-wing influencers, with him responding that "myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme", with a request being made for him to produce content for a "media startup", and that he had a "standard, arms length deal, which was later terminated."^{[22] [23]}

Benny runs three YouTube channels, including Benny Johnson, Benny On The Block, and Benny Brews. In total he has over 2.6 million subscribers.

Personal life

Johnson is married to Katelyn Rieley,^[6] with whom he has four children.^{[24] [25]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Benny Johnson. tpusa.com. July 24, 2024.
2. News: UI student arrested for disorderly conduct, disturbing lawful assembly at event in Iowa Memorial Union. Daily Iowan. Votzmeyer. Colin. September 21, 2022. July 20, 2024.
3. bennyjohnson . Johnson. Benny . 1133216556941434881 . Today is my birthday. It is also Memorial Day. . May 27, 2019 . 2024-07-24.
4. News: "Fauci anklagen": Twitter-Chef knöpft sich US-Chefvirologen vor . . de.
5. News: Twitter says it will start paying creators this week . Sato. Mia . . July 13, 2023 . 2023-12-14.
6. News: Benny Johnson got fired at BuzzFeed. You will believe what happened next.. Terris. Ben. 2015-06-09. The Washington Post. 2017-03-29. en-US. 0190-8286.
7. Web site: For a Fun Time at D.C. Buzzfeed, Call Benny. Betsy. Rothstein. Ad Week. 2012-12-18. 2017-04-19.
8. News: Gold. Hadas. Shutt. Jennifer. July 26, 2014. BuzzFeed fires Benny Johnson for plagiarism. Politico. March 29, 2017.
9. News: Gold . Hadas . 3 February 2015 . IJReview hires Benny Johnson . Politico . 2017-03-29.
10. Web site: Mullin . Benjamin . 21 March 2017 . Report: Benny Johnson was accused of plagiarism (again) . 2018-10-06 . Poynter.
11. News: 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 . . 2020-03-23.
12. News: Scoop: Benny Johnson out at Independent Journal Review. Fischer. Sara . Axios. October 20, 2017. October 20, 2017.
13. News: Feldman . Brian . 21 August 2017 . How to Spot a Fake Antifa Account . Intelligencer . 6 January 2021.
14. News: Montgomery . Blake . 7 September 2017 . Here's A Guide To The Antifa Network That's Trying To Solidify A Nazi-Punching Movement . BuzzFeed News . 6 January 2021.
15. News: Chiel . Ethan . 22 August 2017 . Right Wing Publications Can't Stop Getting Duped By Fake Antifa Accounts . GQ . 6 January 2021.
16. Web site: Moore's anti-media campaign -- Big deal frenzy -- Fixing mass shootings coverage -- Vanity Fair 'panic' -- WaPo expands media desk. Michael. Calderone. Politico. 2017-11-17. 2017-11-18.
17. Web site: Nwanevu . Osita . 2017-11-17 . Today in Conservative Media: Mike Pence Was Right About Being Alone With Women . 2022-05-08 . Slate Magazine . en.
18. Web site: Darcy . Oliver . Reliable Sources with Oliver Darcy: Tuesday, May 2, 2023 . CNN . 6 July 2023.
19. Web site: Concha . Joe . Daily Caller reporter Benny Johnson joining Turning Point USA . The Hill . 2019-02-06 . 2019-02-07.
20. Web site: Newsmax's Benny Johnson Claims President-Elect Office Is a 'Fake Office' Made For Biden (Nope, Trump Did It Too). Zachary. Petrizzo. Mediaite. 2020-11-22. 2020-12-27.
21. Web site: Newsmax rises on wave of resentment towards media - especially Fox News. David. Folkenflik. NPR. 2020-11-30. 2020-12-27.
22. News: Suderman . Alan . Swenson . Ali . Right-wing influencers were duped to work for covert Russian influence operation, US says . September 5, 2024 . . September 5, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240905023838/https://apnews.com/article/russian-interference-presidential-election-influencers-trump-999435273dd39edf7468c6aa34fad5dd . September 5, 2024 . en . live.
23. News: Lynch . Sarah N. . Goudsward . Andrew . Bing . Christopher . US charges employees of Russia's RT network in crackdown on election influence efforts . September 5, 2024 . . . September 5, 2024 . https://archive.today/202409041936/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-accuse-russia-effort-influence-2024-election-cnn-2024-09-04/ . September 4, 2024 . en . live.
24. Web site: KARI LAKE & BENNY JOHNSON WILL ADDRESS FAITH & FREEDOM COALITION'S "ROAD TO MAJORITY" POLICY CONFERENCE 2023. ffcoalition.com. June 13, 2023. July 24, 2024.
25. bennyjohnson. Johnson. Benny. 1702776257501360608. BOY DAD OFFICIAL ANNOUNCING Mr. Theodore Johnson.. September 15, 2023. July 24, 2024.