Author of “Imagine: How Creativity Works“, Jonah Lehrer,
Author of “Imagine: How Creativity Works“, Jonah Lehrer, made up quotes attributed to Bob Dylan and as the New Republic alleges, “…almost everything in the [first] chapter [Bob Dylan’s Brain]—from the minor details to the larger argument—is inaccurate, misleading, or simplistic.”
Yesterday Lehrer confessed to Tablet journalist Michael Moynihan who had been investigating Lehrer’s book of outright lying to him, saying that “I couldn’t find the original sources, I panicked. And I’m deeply sorry for lying.”
“Imagine” publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has stopped shipment of the book and is deciding on their next steps. Today Lehrer stepped down from his position at The New Yorker and penned an apology in the New York Times:
The lies are over now. I understand the gravity of my position. I want to apologize to everyone I have let down, especially my editors and readers. I also owe a sincere apology to Mr. Moynihan. I will do my best to correct the record and ensure that my misquotations and mistakes are fixed.
This confession comes on the heels of Lehrer’s admission early this month of “self-plagiarizing” in which he was caught publishing the same article in five different journals (all easily searchable). Ballsy or just plain stupid, creative journalism at its finest.
