When Hari Met Reality:
The First Time Hari Got Sacked for Making Things Up
Johann Hari has made a living out adding a little first person je ne sais quoi to his articles, also known as bullshit. Day after day new evidence emerges of his Matilda-ish tendency towards fakery and deception, and it appears to be a trick that he picked up early in his career. In October 1999 he was sacked as News Editor of Cambridge University’s Varsity student newspaper. He told friends at the time it was because the editor was “jealous of my intellect”. Another pure fabrication.
Hari was sacked after his sexed up copy, printed in the October 29, 1999 edition, included the made up fact that 1,500 students had taken part in a protest against tuition fees. It turned out to be a ridiculous exaggeration and when the editor discovered that the figure was way out, it was the final straw amidst a growing suspicion that Hari had an unfortunate tendency make up things to spice up his copy.
At least his then editor had some spine…
The Orwell Prize Council revealed yesterday that:
“Prior to presenting the award, as part of our due diligence, one of the judges contacted Simon Kelner, editor of The Independent, who expressed his full confidence in the Hari articles”
Other former winners have confirmed to Guido that this was a one off and did not happen regarding their submissions, as far as Guido is aware no other editors have been contacted in this way to vouch for their hacks. What was suspicious about Hari’s work? His reputation for embellishment was known well enough in newsrooms to make the judges nervous.
The Orwell Prize Council pointedly claimed this week that they had, since awarding Hari the Orwell Prize in 2008, tightened up the rules regarding attribution of quotes. Did they have anyone in mind when they made that rule change?
On discovering yesterday that Hari entered work this year for the 2011 Orwell Prize, Guido asked the director of the prize to list the articles Hari had entered, he declined. They are it seems to go down the Orwellian memory hole. Jenni Russell won the prize this year, Hari’s continuing claim to be a former prize winner tarnishes the name of the prize. Guido knows for a fact that other prize winners feel genuine anger that Hari is among their prestigious number.
Hari defended himself in his mea culpa article using his own unique definition of plagiarism. To the charge of plagiarism we can add passing off, fraud, deception, profiting from the work of others and lying. He should be asked by the Orwell Prize Council to return the £3,000 prize money and to refrain from describing himself as a former Orwell Prize winner. As for Hari, he should note what happened to Matilda:
Matilda told such Dreadful Lies,
It made one Gasp and Stretch one’s Eyes;
Her Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth,
Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth,
Attempted to Believe Matilda:
The effort very nearly killed her,
…
For every time she shouted ‘Fire!’
They only answered ‘Little Liar!’
And therefore when her Aunt returned,
Matilda, and the House, were Burned.
Chris Blackhurst was announced as the new editor of The Indy today…
Gotcha!
In Tipton he would be knows by the local phrase – “a fucking liar”
If he’s a socialist then it will be in his DNA and un-treatable
Hahahaha… +1
At least I am honest, At least I have a tag line under my Blog name as follows:
“I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, or something like the truth, so help me God”.
The detestable Campbell, Blair’s spin writer to get us in a war, criticises Prince Charles. I think Prince Charles was very tolerant of the socialist shite. Both Blair and Campbell should be investigated and locked up. Campbell will probably go back to his drunk mental ways.
He should become a Lib Dem. He’d fit right in.
Phew!
Guido, you have spent a long time on beating down someone who nobody has heard of.
Is this personal?
We need to know.
Ah Tipton–how is it these days…I used to work in the Midland Bank there forty years ago. I hear there are alot of M*sl*ms there now.
i guess you would know DB then?
Yow craw believe a wehd of his blether.
A care home manager who housed elderly residents in ‘dog kennel’ conditions was kicked out of the profession yesterday.
Under the watch of Ramdai Singh, a 70-year-old dementia sufferer lost 11st after being fed a diet of tea, chocolate and a drink supplement in a urine-soaked room, a disciplinary hearing heard.
The resident, who was made to wear a nappy pad, had to drink out of a plastic beaker that was ‘stained, dirty and furry’, a Nursing and Midwifery Council panel was told.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2010124/Manager-banned-nursing-running-care-home-better-kennel.html#ixzz1QrhZVgnh
LOL! pmsl
Oops, sorry folks. My bad – can’t help saying what I think.
keep piling on the pressure!
So , the person that employed him at the Indie didnt do a proper background check then?
Or maybe they did….
could be, Billy: they are a viewspaper, not a newspaper; facts need not necessarily apply…
Are you here legally? Did they give you laptop as well dole when you came here?
round the back check more like
” former Orwell Prize winner ” = BSc (failed)
Where did you fail your BSc? Madras university.
What we have here is the eventual proving of everybody’s grandmothers’ favourite maxim – the truth will out.
I guess Hari always knew this day would come. One embellishment here, one lie there, one quote added to over here, something lifted from another source down there; it all adds up, but spread out over years would not make it noticeable. He must have felt guilty throughout his career – making all the right noises on human rights abuse and equality, lauded by the Left, yet knowing deep down that his commentary pieces were noble ideas wrapped in other peoples chippy paper.
Doubtlessly, Hari will continue to earn a living from his writing. It’s not as though the mainstream press are overflowing with commentariat types at the moment. His stock is worthless, though, so expect a long period of silence followed by a few 250-400 word columns tucked away on the Viewspaper by Christmas.
He looks like a kid out of school, so perhaps he should go back and finish his GCSEs.
Crap writer on a rubbish paper, I hope they sink without trace.
Better things to worry about.
how long can you keep the drip-drip going? ’cause shitbags like hari need to be drummed out of the profession, preferably in the most humiliating, career-threatening way possible.
We need journos to speak truth to power — sadly most (honourable exceptions do spring to mind) are in it for the celebrity, the kudos, the lifestyle, etc — in fact every part of the job which has nothing to do with the job. And when we can’t trust the press, we can’t trust their reporting; and we won’t be able to keep an eye on those even more vain-glorious politicians and scrutinise them to the extent they deserve.
This shitbag has pissed in the well of Truth.
being modded?
am being very mellow really on this wonderfully sunny Friday afternoon (unless something stupid happens in the cricket of course)
Hari and his ilk need to be rounded up and gassed. I’d even offer to pay for the gas
Jonah strike Johann
http://www.attitude.co.uk/viewfeature.aspx?featid=10280
My God, you are obsessed. Have you got a crush on him? You need to get out more
what? what in the name of Billy’s slightly crooked wicket finger are you talking about? or do you like being spoon-fed a pleasingly unchallenging brew of lies and bullshit from the press?
I mean I’ve heard of a closed mind …
Of course youve heard of a closed mind if you come on this Huntwit site often.
Are you deranged?
I don’t know about daedalus, but you clearly are.
haha yes. BRING IT, BITCH
kisses daedalus x
Lies. They’re our core value.
And the stock is going up!
Starting to wonder how much of the world perceived by middle-class “socialists” only exists in the imagination? Scared?
‘”It’s scary, isn’t it?” I ask. The boy shrugs. “Yeah,” he says, “I suppose it is scary. But frankly…” He lights up, cradling the contraband fag, “frankly, it’s not half as scary as what’s happening to our future.”‘
Heh.
According to the BBC 350 of us turned out to Rally Against the Debt, a petition passed round gathered 400 signatures so the actual number is likely nearer 500.
Guido
I also believe there is enough evidence to award him a twat watch tag.
His breath taking arrogence is typical of the Islington media class, Rivalled only by Polly Toynbee.
If i had been paying his wages at the Indie i might ask the police to investigate him for obtaining through deception.
It’s piss weak this post, isnt it. I was expecting a smoking gun yet its just an exaggeration of numbers story – like every twat right wing newspaper makes about protests depending on whether they support or oppose the cause. All newspapers would be shut down if we held them to these standards #desperation
Well fuck off back to the Independent then.
and you’d better hurry up ‘cos the Indy wont be arround much longer.
The Indy is unreadable, worse than the Garudina.
Oh no, the Garudian is readable all right. You can work out what actually happened from the G, which is more than you can from the BBC. It’s written by intelligent people for inteliigent people, just like this blog.
I have, you prickwad. I just like coming on here to see how you sociopaths are coping with your time out of the hospitals. Your wives are cheating on you, by the way.
Psychological projection:
Psychological projection or projection bias is a psychological defense mechanism where a person subconsciously denies his or her own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, usually to other people. Thus, projection involves imagining or projecting the belief that others originate those feelings.
smashing!
PS your wife, she says hi
Oh that’s mischievous: evoking the sexual partners (and their predilections) of those you hate. All right, if that’s the game: your right hand is cheating on you. your thumb and index finger
Because nasty Right- wingers make shit up and he’s just redressing the balance? Fuck you and your moral equivalence, you fucking shithelmet.
Little different from the left wing hate campaign against Jan Moir, except Hari has actually violated his profession’s ethics rather than express an opinion on a celebritiy’s lifestyle which offended lefties (and no one would have blinked an eye at if the celebrity had been straight and indulging in group sex with women).
Don’t agree.
Both journalists and politicians are regarded poorly by the general population because both walks of life (I refuse to call them professions) contain far too many people who play fast and loose with facts, or who ignore or distort truth. Hari, it seems, has been more egregious than most journalists.
The best way to improve politics is for journalists to expose lies, cant, hypocricy and distortions of truth. They cannot do that if they distort truth themselves – and ultimately, the public are not as stupid as many politicians and jounalists believe they are. Truth will out.
We don’t take kindly to your types round here.
As Sir Walter Scott said to me, with a tear in his eye, ‘O, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive!’.
“a trick that he picked up early in his career”
I doubt that.
to quote from Lead Balloon this week (with Robbie Coltrane), that I remembered from watching TV:
“You see it started with the school nativity play, when I got the part of a sheep, but I told my mother I was joseph …etc.etc.”
I sold the gold at $1600 USD
You sold all the gold for $1600 USD.
You’re a bigot so you won’t like hearing this but I bought Euros with it so we actually made money. It was a negative 5400% growth.
Whose idea was it to put me here? Sue’s I think.
but did you kill the sheriff?
No mate, you’d be buying the stuff now if you were still in power.
Fucking nuts.
We all shagged Matilda
We all shagged Matilda
Oh do stop picking on the nice boy, you beastly right-wing Tories.
This is all certainly keeping Johann quiet. His blog has been silent and he’s usually in the Indy on a Friday. Keep it up!
Also not a lot of tweets from the little shit lately.
Perhaps he’s in his car at Beachy Head, sorting all the stuff in his pockets into a neat little pile on the passenger seat, using his laptop to copy and paste that final note of regret, before braving the breeze one last time to walk, eyes closed, towards the setting sun and into eternal nothingness.
If he walked towrds the setting sun from Beachy Head at this time of year, he would end up in Brighton…
There is a faint chance he might slip off the cliff edge at Seaford
small mercies
No tweeting on Twitter from that particular bird.
http://twitter.com/#!/johannhari101
Gotcha!
Just need Noel Edmunds to door step him now and present him with his award.
The holo caust cracks me up. Sociopathic?
We may have a well-paid position for you.
There was no holo caust.
And put your burqa on, whore.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opal_Mehta
how long can you keep the drip-drip going? ’cause shite-heads like hari need to be drummed out of the profession, preferably in the most humiliating, career-threatening way possible.
We need journos to speak truth to power — sadly most (honourable exceptions do spring to mind) are in it for the celebrity, the kudos, the lifestyle, etc — in fact every part of the job which has nothing to do with the job. And when we can’t trust the press, we can’t trust their reporting; and we won’t be able to keep an eye on those even more vain-glorious politicians and scrutinise them to the extent they deserve.
This little joker has pissed in the well of Truth.
This site wants a final solution for small green vegtables
Knuckle dragging, right wing nutters, etc, etc, etc,…………….
It’s all the fault of Fatcher, init?
“‘es NOT the Messiah, ‘es just a very naughty boy!”
Whilst on the subject of cheats….I watched that Sharapova play at Wimbledon yesterday for the first time this tournament, all that grunting and what not–it is to put the opponent off isn’t it? .
all part of the game. i think they should be able to wear bright clothes and huge beflowered hats and make any sorts of noises at any time if that helps. would make a better spectacle too.
I’d go with string tops and thongs myself. I’d watch it.
That or they should be naked except for a generous coating of suntan oil.
Men and women?
Women, Billy.
With lots of slow-motion close-ups and replays.
what about equality ?
hey, the girls get paid as much as the men for 2/3rds the tennis already
But where would they keep the spare balls?
I would give em a hand
Gnnnnnaaaaeeeioooorrrgghhhhhhhh!
Ballet, Benga, Bamos..Rafa!! Bas ganar..Phonetically speaking of course.
Handycock would favour the juniors tournament.
And the next fraud Hack is……………..?????????
toynbee is of course the queen of self-righteous hypocrisy … although not fraud (or at least none that has been discovered yet).
kia abdullah? although calling her a journalist is stretching it.
It’s pushing it even to describe her as an author.
Two books, one of which was self-published, and the other published by some blogging outfit run from a spare room in a council flat.
No alibi brown?
Guido, can’t remember another story that you have devoted so much space to? Is this really as big a story as you are making it out?
The guys a journalistic fraud. Out him and move on, there are surely more important stories out there!
You do not speak for the general public.
chris Hunt?
It’s illustrative of a couple of interesting threads:
1) he’s a fraud
2) he’s undermining journalism — or at least shredding its few remain pretenses of professionalism (if nothing else)
3) he’s a liar
4) he won’t man up and admit his folly — that “apology” puts most politicians’ most artful attempts to shame
5) the reaction from the left (darling Laurie in particular) has been hilariously hypocritical and wanktastic — homophobia? WTF?
6) it keeps the rest of them on their toes
7) Hari has definitely crossed the line from journo to opinionator/commentator and should stop pretending to be one
and so on. cracking stuff guido.
I haven’t laughed this hard since the time I watched the Silence of the Lambs. Ooops. #Sociopathic?
ooohhhh Ive started a trend
Yeah. I think numbered lists date back quite a long time.
Investment Advice to Readers
From
Sir Simon Kelner
Re Share J Hari PLC
Sell Sell Sell
Yours
Sir S Kelner ex Editor Independent
Do Independent readers have anything to invest?
I’d assumed the 20p ‘I’ version was in recognition that Indy readers were skint.
Very few people pay for The Independent. We pump up circulation by dumping copies at all hotels, including Holiday Inn, within a 200 mile radius of London.
Consider it really a freebie.
BTW I never really liked that fat shit Hari but as my bonus depended on promoting the gobshite he produced I made it my business to promote and puff him up.
I have a house in Tuscany, a daughter at Cheltenham Ladies College, another at Edinburh Universtity, a wife who likes shopping and a mistress who like shopping and a little fucking.
I am a bit of a whore but I do have a nice lifestyle.
A Tip ; Buy Yazza Ali-Baba she is going places.
Yours fraternally
Sir Simon Says
Never thought I’d say this … it look’s like sanity has broken out in the comments section of the graun:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/discussion/comment-permalink/11398265
Blimey. There’s hope for the human race yet.
Imo the CiF section is becoming progressively (in the traditional sense) sane of late. Less nonsense taken from above the line too with c unts like Seamus Milne making less contributions there.
Go ahead, make my… article up.
How is Andy McMurray doing?
Don’t know – don’t care Billy. Just hope McDoom has wished him the best of luck.:)
england look like losing ODI tho 206-7 , They need 104 from 64
Courage Billy!
now need 100 from 54 balls.
Ballet, Benga, Bamos..Rafa!! Bas ganar..Phonetically speeking of course.
Come on Andy Murray !
As Prime Minster I would just like to wish Andy the best of luck for this tournament. I know he has the whole labour party, public sector workforce and immigrant community behind him.
I will make a statement on this matter this afternoon in the House of Commons.
Yes, I am sure half the prison population would love to come on Andy.
LOL
The Hanningfield thread wasnt given much time…can only wonder why.
Hari AGAIN. You are wasting your time Guido. And you are becoming a bore to boot
You can always claim a full refund and fuck off?
Shouldnt you get back to the Cricket Billy….. The Sky viewing figures for the match will then go from 50,000 to 50,001
Shouldnt you get back to labourlist, then thier stats will increase 100%
Oh billy…. Shouldnt you be at Conservativehome. This isn’t a Tory site….apparently !!!!!!
Never been conhome and dont intend to.
Shouldn’t you be sucking off your latest rentboy jonty? You can’t have a boyfriend, as no one would screw a pasty little shit like you without cash changing hands.
but Hari’s got such a large back catalogue to plough through …
your comments are becoming a bore, too; but we’re far too polite to mention it.
kisses daedalus x
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is released
No he isn’t Mousa.
For now he’s free to go anywhere he can without a passport.
Much like a large proportion of US citizens.
This over zealous pursuit is getting silly Guido….1999. Jesus you are scrapping the barrel
What were you upto in your late teens and early twenties Guido. It was drink and drugs wasn’t it. Lots of em I believe. Pretty long charge sheet to boot….LOL
Get over it
always knew guido had taste — what else should one do in one’s teenage years? certainly much more healthy than ego-masturbating frantically into the tissue of student journalism. Frankly anyone who does that has many more problems.
I had heard Hari has 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one …
I think this Hari chappie had a go at Guido some time ago about something or other. There’s bad blood. At least, that’s what Usain Bolt told me when the Pope had an audience with us at Hugo Chavez’ little place.
‘To boot?’ Shouldn’t that be ‘to sandal’? You inconsequential goat-f ucker?
What’s wrong with drink and drugs – are you some kind of reactionary pre war Tory or something?
Castro looked at me thoughtfully before leaning back in his old, worn and trusty burgundy leather chair that had borne witness to the early days of Fidel’s historic paradigm shift in Cuban politics, and said, staring straight into my eyes and piercing the very core of my being, and with tears welling up: “Communism is the greatest liberator in history and has proven time after time to lift people out of poverty and bring freedom whence there was none. Let the world know. That is all I ask, for I am but a simple man with a great love for all people.” And with that, he looked out the window. A tear rolled down his cheek. One rolled down mine too.
A tear rolled down his cheek. One rolled down mine too……..
……It was then I took his throbbing manhood between my other cheeks…. Ohhhhhhhh
…….I asked if the great man had any other philosophies or insights he could share.
He thought long and hard and then in a soft, almost whisper he said,
“Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
He paused and took a draw of his famous Havana cigar. Blew a stream of silky, grey smoke up to the gently rotating, squeaking ceiling fan, slowly whirling like the blades of some long departed Huey attack copter. He lifted a jungle booted foot and balanced it on the edge of his mahogany desk and then slowly said, “Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me… Aren’t you?”
this man just shows the evil fucking twisted left wing bastards in this country that lie and lie and lie again to make sensible people seem mad.
The fucking idiot Brown was there for 13 years and fucked the country along with Labour, the unions and the BBC all supported and abetted by these fucking dick brained half witted dick wads
left wing = EVIL
Burn the bastards
CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNTS!
would you like a cup of tea dear?
Go on you fucking tell ‘em Ethel.
Billericay
oh well, The only leftie blog i went to has now changed to google log in.
Control and command ?
I fail to see why telling some truth about the availability of jobs ,is capable of causing a rift , any continuance of Labours great unemployed coverup can only keep our country in the pit of troubles , so well crafted by the previous government . His speaking may be uncomfortable , but his figures are disgraceful fraud left by the previous goverment .
If nothing else this goverment was elected to sort this tradgey out , it may take time I agree , but some of these things are to do with the way the economy has come to function as well .
I tried very hard to like Mr Hunes turbo charged article on green future jobs , true it will supply employment , however he was a little disengenous pointing to the low electricty rises in France (who use lots of nuclear) and not mentioning how frances subsidy and disposal costs are met from taxation , perhaps not so cheap electricty after all ? The energy solutions will perhaps be a mix , or even making use of night time for certain high energy needs , or more localised energy plants , but lights will go out scenario if we dont have loads of new nuclear is not true if not considering energy consumption redcutions can be made .
Has Murray lost yet?
Have the inglish players turned up yet ?
Is it just me or is anyone else getting bored with all this Johann Hari crap? Time to move on Guido.
When Grandmama fell off the boat
And couldn’t swim (and wouldn’t float),
Matilda just stood by and smiled.
I almost could have slapped the child.
*Scratches head*
So the online blogger hack who falsely claimed William Hague was bumming his SpAd, sees fit to go after a journo for unethical reporting.
Now I’ve seen it all.
All quiet on the Hari front. It’s Pride in London today…. would have thought he might have put fingers to keyboard, as the only gay in the city. Instead, Philip Hensher has a far more mature, outward-looking and reflective article than Har-I-I-I would ever come up with.
So, on reflection, how scared of HuffPoUK are you?
Varsity has always been, and will always be, full of proto-journalists vying for power and editorships as they try to launch their own careers – everyone incoming thought it was full of shit and needed a makeover in their own image. C’mon, who was the Varsity editor (David Peter?) and where is he now?