Left-wing NBC disinformation reporter angered over media reporting on Harvard plagiarism allegations

A left-wing NBC News reporter is angry that news outlets are covering embattled Harvard University President Claudine Gay being hit with extensive plagiarism allegations.

Ben Collins, who "covers disinformation, extremism and the internet" for NBC News, hasn’t filed a story in 81 days, according to his bio page on the network’s website. But he’s active on Elon Musk’s social media platform X and has sarcastically criticized coverage of Gay’s ongoing scandal. 

"Please, newspapers, I must know more about internal politicking at Harvard University. Put more reporters on it. My need to know who is internally popular at the executive level of one college is insatiable. It is the most important thing in the world," Collins wrote on X.

EMBATTLED HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT CLAUDINE GAY HIT WITH MORE PLAGIARISM CHARGES

NBC News reporter Ben Collins mocked coverage of Harvard University President Claudine Gay being accused of extensive plagiarism. (Photo by Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images/NBC/Screenshot)

The Washington Free Beacon, the Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo and journalist Christopher Brunet initially covered the claims that Harvard’s president faced numerous allegations of plagiarism. 

Gay’s plagiarism allegations have since been covered by mainstream outlets including The New York Times, CNN, USA Today, Washington Post, Axios, and BBC. It was also the focus of a segment on NBC News Now, and then posted to NBC News’ website.

Rufo and other conservatives couldn't resist taking shots back at Collins, who similarly erupted on social media last year over "Twitter Files" revelations.

"Ben's ironic pose is designed to lull people into accepting the idea that 41 instances of plagiarism by the highest academic leader in America is not a big deal. A real journalist would prioritize truth. But this is Ben Collins," Rufo wrote. 

Fox News Radio’s Guy Benson added, "IGNORE THIS STORY, demands frustrated activist."

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Others pointed out that Collins had no issues dedicating time to "breathless, play-by-play coverage of arguments on Reddit," and that the Harvard plagiarism story deserves to be covered fairly and accurately.  

Collins doubled down, criticizing Rufo for explaining on social media that the plagiarism story was "launched" from the right, but it would be legitimized once embraced by news outlets on the left.

"If you're a mainstream outlet and you're being gamed this easily by a guy who is laying out his playbook days or months in advance, maybe the problem isn't the right-wing grifters. Maybe the problem is you," Collins wrote to accompany screen grabs of past Rufo posts. 

NBC News did not immediately respond when asked why Collins hasn’t filed a story in 81 days, and whether it has an issue with him criticizing coverage of a story that has been on NBC. 

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Rufo responded by noting the NBC News video report headlined, "Harvard president faces plagiarism accusation." 

"Your L, sir," Rufo wrote. "I'm sorry that the truth hurts you, Ben."

Collins did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

In an appearance on Fox News program "The Ingraham Angle" on Thursday, Rufo said the evidence of Gay's actions was "damning."

"The decision that has to be made is a very simple one," Rufo said. "Does Harvard value veritas or truth, or does Harvard value DEI and having the right race and gender symbolism at the top of its university hierarchy? You can only pick one in this case."

Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, during a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023.  (Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Earlier this month, Harvard Corporation, the school’s highest governing body, announced it would stand by Gay despite intense backlash to controversial comments about antisemitism and accusations of plagiarism, although it admitted a probe found "instances of inadequate citation" in her academic writings. She has since been accused of "dozens of additional cases in which Gay quoted or paraphrased authors without proper attribution" that were submitted to Harvard's research integrity officer, according to the Free Beacon. 

Harvard admitted it has found more instances of "duplicative language" in Gay’s academic work on Wednesday, as the House also expanded its probe into the Ivy League school, demanding to know whether students and the university’s leader were held to the same standards on plagiarism. 

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NBC News reporter Ben Collins covers "disinformation, extremism and the internet." (MSNBC)

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., sent a letter to Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny Pritzker on Wednesday demanding more information about the university’s handling of plagiarism allegations against Gay and "the unequal application of Harvard’s Honor Code." 

Reason senior editor Robby Soave scolded Collins for downplaying the serious allegations. 

"Misinformation cops want you to ignore obvious examples of plagiarism committed by Harvard's President Claudine Gay because... reasons? Beware the gatekeepers of misinformation who pretend that it is somehow in everybody's best interest if accurate information is kept quiet—and who disdain other reporters for breaking ranks," Soave wrote. 

"It's just kinda crazy to me how obviously and self evidently partisan some of these ‘misinformation reporters’ are, in ways that cause tangible harm to journalism," FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver added. Collins fired back that Silver is fixated on him and overestimates his influence in the NBC newsroom.

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His criticism of NBC wasn't his only broadside against his own employer this week. On the Meta social media platform Threads, he criticized the canceling of left-wing anchor Mehdi Hasan's MSNBC program on Thursday, saying it happened under "wildly shady circumstances."

Hasan's show was axed as part of a weekend programming shift going into 2024, and some of his supporters have said it's related to his outspoken stance against Israel and willingness to criticize both sides of the aisle. He will remain at the network as a fill-in host and analyst, however.

Fox News’ Nikolas Lanum, Danielle Wallace and David Rutz contributed to this report.