Johnny Harris (journalist)

Last updated

Johnny Harris
Personal information
Born (1988-05-28) May 28, 1988 (age 37)
Oregon, U.S.
Education
Occupations
  • YouTuber
  • filmmaker
  • journalist
SpouseIz Harris
Children2
Website www.johnnyharris.ch OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2011–present
Genres
  • International affairs
  • history
  • geography
Subscribers6.99 million [1]
Views1.067 billion [1]
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers2019
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg1,000,000 subscribers2021
Last updated: September 13, 2025

Johnny Harris (born May 28, 1988) [‡ 1] [‡ 2] is an American YouTuber, filmmaker, and independent journalist based in Washington, D.C. [2] He is known for producing the Borders series for the American news website Vox and for his personal YouTube channel. [3] [4] His work, which uses a fast-paced, visually-driven style to explain topics in history and international affairs, has drawn criticism for alleged oversimplification, factual inaccuracies, and conflicts of interest. [5]

Contents

Early life

Harris was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a small town in Oregon. [‡ 3] He graduated from Ashland High School, in Ashland, Oregon. [‡ 4] He served a two-year mission in Tijuana, Mexico, and identified as a devout Mormon but has since left the church. [‡ 5] [ better source needed ] Harris holds a Bachelor of Arts in international relations and affairs from Brigham Young University (2013) and a Master of Arts in international peace and conflict resolution from American University (2016). [‡ 6] [2]

Career

Vox and The New York Times

From 2017 to 2019, Harris produced and hosted Borders, a documentary short film series for Vox that profiled sociopolitical issues in various border regions worldwide. [6] The series was twice nominated for an Emmy Award. [7] It was cancelled in 2020 due to budgeting considerations. [8] [ better source needed ]

After leaving Vox, Harris produced several video essays for the Opinion section of The New York Times . [9] [10] In 2021, he was the video producer on an opinion piece titled "Blue States, You're the Problem", which won an Emmy Award. [11] [12] [13]

YouTube channel

Harris's personal YouTube channel continues the explanatory style of his previous work, covering topics such as international affairs, geography, and history.

Borders Series Overview
SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedLocation(s)
First airedLast airedProducer
16May 22, 2017October 14, 2017 Vox Media Inc. Various
25July 11, 2018August 15, 2018 Hong Kong
35November 22, 2018December 18, 2018 Colombia
45June 26, 2019July 24, 2019 India
5Release cancelled United States

Criticism

Harris's work has been criticized by journalists and science communicators for its journalistic standards, factual accuracy, and framing of complex issues.

Science communicator Jonathan Jarry of McGill University's Office for Science and Society criticized Harris for producing a video sponsored by the World Economic Forum (WEF) that was presented in a style indistinguishable from his journalistic content, with the partnership only disclosed at the end. Jarry argued the video's purpose was "neither education nor journalism, but an ad for the WEF’s meeting in Davos and its founder’s latest book." Jarry has also criticized Harris's broader body of work for oversimplifying complex scientific and historical topics, misrepresenting facts, and omitting key context. [14]

On December 15, 2024, a reporter for the Kyiv Independent criticized a video by Harris that attributed the Russo-Ukrainian War largely to NATO expansion. The reporter argued this viewpoint aligns with Kremlin propaganda, omits crucial historical context, and was an example of Harris's tendency toward "prioritizing sensationalism over facts and disregarding history," particularly regarding Russia and NATO. [15]

Personal life

Harris is married to Iz Harris, with whom he has two sons. [‡ 7]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 "About Johnny Harris". YouTube.
  2. 1 2 "Johnny Harris". Vox . July 24, 2019. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  3. ↑ Schmidt, Christine (August 27, 2018). "Explanatory video + engagement = How Vox's Borders series is humanizing the map and building local source networks". Nieman Lab . Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  4. ↑ Scott, Caroline (August 30, 2017). "Why Vox has been crowdsourcing for its latest international documentary series". journalism.co.uk . Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  5. ↑ Jarry, Jonathan (August 2, 2024). "The Many Mistakes of Johnny Harris". Office for Science and Society. McGill University . Archived from the original on June 11, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Borders". Vox . December 5, 2017. Archived from the original on June 24, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Vox Earns 3 News and Documentary Emmy Award Nominations". Vox Media . July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  8. ↑ Llewellyn, Tom (September 15, 2020). "Vox Borders cancelled: Why has the popular documentary series been axed?". Reality Titbit. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  9. ↑ How America Bungled the Plague. NYT Opinion. September 29, 2020. Archived from the original on September 5, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2021– via YouTube.
  10. ↑ Harris, Johnny; Cottle, Michelle (September 21, 2022). "Inside the Completely Legal G.O.P. Plot to Destroy American Democracy". Opinion. The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  11. ↑ Harris, Johnny; Appelbaum, Binyamin (November 9, 2021). "Blue States, You're the Problem". Opinion. The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  12. ↑ "The New York Times Wins 5 Emmy Awards". The New York Times Company. September 30, 2022. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  13. ↑ Schneider, Michael (September 29, 2022). "ABC, Vice Lead 2022 News Emmy Award Winners". Variety. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  14. ↑ Jarry, Jonathan (August 2, 2024). "The Many Mistakes of Johnny Harris". Office for Science and Society. McGill University . Archived from the original on June 11, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  15. ↑ Blevins, Jason (December 11, 2024). "YouTuber Johnny Harris' lens on Eastern Europe is distorted and irresponsible". The Kyiv Independent . Archived from the original on April 1, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2025.

Primary sources

In the text, these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):

  1. ↑ Why Britain is the Center of the World. Johnny Harris. November 22, 2019. Event occurs at 10:14. Retrieved June 2, 2022– via YouTube.
  2. ↑ "#69: Johnny Harris – Himalayan Borders, Making Maps, Traveling with Purpose". Finding Founders (Podcast). Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ Why New York City is so Huge. Johnny Harris. October 20, 2020. Archived from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2021– via YouTube.
  4. ↑ Am I Happy?: Q&A. Johnny Harris. May 27, 2021. Archived from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2021– via YouTube.
  5. ↑ Why I Left The Mormon Church. Johnny Harris. June 11, 2021. Archived from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2021– via YouTube.
  6. ↑ Harris, Johnny. "Johnny Harris". LinkedIn . Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  7. ↑ Who Are We?!. Iz Harris. February 4, 2018. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021– via YouTube.
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