Plagiarism and How to Avoid it: Plagiarism Cases
Guide on Plagiarism and how to avoid it
Politicians & Plagiarism
In 2011 and 2013, a number of high profile German politicians were embroiled in plagiarism allegations, including the Defence Minister and Education Minister of Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet. Click on the links below to read more about them.
- German defence minister resigns in PhD plagiarism rowKarl-Theodor zu Guttenberg stripped of doctorate by University of Bayreuth
- Second German Politician Quits over Plagiarism ChargeThe University of Heidelberg withdrew dotorate degree of Silvana Koch-Mehrin, leading politician from the Free Democratic Party (FDP).
- German politician loses doctorate for plagiarismBonn University annuls MEP Jorgo Chatzimarkakis's doctorate for insufficient acknowledgement of other authors
- German minister Annette Schavan quits over 'plagiarism'German Education Minister Annette Schavan resigned after a university stripped her of her doctorate.
Other politicians embroiled in plagiarism allegations
- Finnish presidential candidate plagiarised master’s thesis, investigation findsby Euronews (28 Aug 2018)
- 5 Politicos With Questionable Academic Credentialsby Time (5 March 2018)
- Journalist gets death threats after reporting plagiarism accusations against Croatian officialby Retraction Watch (8 December 8 2017)
- How Romania’s plagiarism hunter took on the prime ministerby Times Higher Education (27 July 2017)
- Marine Le Pen, French Presidential Candidate, Is Accused of PlagiarismThe New York Times (2 May 2017)
- Croatia’s science minister rejects calls to resign amid plagiarism scandalby Nature (17 Jan 2017)
- Ben Carson's History Book Plagiarizes SocialismSucks.Net And Many Other Sourcesby Buzzfeed (7 Jan 2015)
- Rand Paul’s plagiarism allegations, and why they matterby The Washington Post (4 November 2013)
Harvard undergrad accused of plagiarism
In 2006, Harvard Undergrad Kaavya Viswanatha's book How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life was pulled off the shelves due to allegations of plagiarism. Click on the links below to read more about the case. Do you believe Viswanathan when she said that it might be a case of crytomnesia, or as she puts it, a case of internalising what she had read?
- Student’s Novel Faces Plagiarism Controversyby The Harvard Crimson (23 April 2006)
- Harvard Novelist Says Copying Was Unintentionalby New York Times (25 April 2006)
- How Kaavya Viswanathan Got Charged With Plagiarism...by Outlook India (24 April 2006)
- Publisher to Recall Harvard Student's Novelby The New York Times (28 April 2008)
- Chick Lit's Re-Packaging of Plagiarism: The Debate Over Chick Lit's Influence on Authorship and PublishingAn interesting article by Rachel V. Smydra with tables of comparison between Viswanathan's book and that from other authors, including Salman Rushdie.
- For 'Opal Mehta,' End of Story, Publisher Saysby The Washington Post (3 May 2006)
- Kaavya SyndromeWriter Joshua Foer explains why he thinks no one has photographic memory and the concept of crytomnesia.
- Cryptomnesia makes us accidental plagiaristsMore on crytomnesia, and one the most sensational cases - Helen Keller.
Plagiarism in the news
- As Melania Trump Faces Plagiarism Claims, Her Staff Lashes Out at News Mediaby NYT (8 May 2018)
- Over a dozen editorial board members resigned when a journal refused to retract a paper. Today, it’s retracted.by Retraction Watch (20 March 2018)
- Higher Education Commission software shows its director’s paper 88% plagiarisedby The News (28 December 2017)
- Mass Resignation from Scientific Reports’s Editorial Boardby The Scientist (7 November 2017)
- 11 Plagiarism Scandals of 2016by Unicheck (27 Jan 2017)
Plagiarism in academic institutions
Read more about these cases of academics (and some students) and what happens when they plagiarise.
- Study: millions of students guilty of contract cheating worldwideby THE (30 Aug 2018)
- College investigation alleges plagiarism by health policy professorby The Dartmouth (20 Aug 2018)
- Cheating at UK's top universities soars by 40%by The Guardian (29 April 2018)
- Undone by Anonymous Emailby Inside Higher Ed (16 April 2018)
- Chris Spence loses appeal to keep PhD amid plagiarism findingsby The Star (7 Feb 2018)
- French physicist accused of plagiarism seems set to lose prestigious jobby Science (6 April 2017)
- Spanish university head accused of copy-paste plagiarismby BBC News (16 December 2016)
- Is there a problem with academic integrity?by THE (30 June 2016)
- Huge publishing scandal engulfs South Korean universitiesby RSC (Royal Society of Chemistry (26 January 2016)
- 179 professors indicted in research publishing scam(17 Dec 2015)
- Macquarie University revokes degrees for students caught buying essays in MyMaster cheating racaketby The Sydney Morning Herald (28 May 2015)
- MyMaster essay cheating scandal: More than 70 university students face suspensionby the Sydney Morning Herald (19 March 2015)
- Ex-Vice Chancellor of Delhi University sent to jail for ‘plagiarism’, releasedby The Times of India (26 Nov 2014)
- Students Disciplined in Harvard Scandalby The New York Times (1 Feb 2013)
- Plagiarism in Grant ProposalsThe Chronical of Higher Education (10 Dec 2012)
- Harvard University probes plagiarism outbreak involving 125 studentsby The Guardian (31 Aug 2012)
- Carleton students caught in plagiarism scandalby CBC News (4 July 2002)