More plagiarism charges leveled at Jerome Corsi

In a new article at the Barackryphal site today, author Loren makes a damning case against Jerome Corsi, showing how Corsi’s quotes from “WND researchers” in Kenya were actually from published news sources unassociated with WND.

In a comment by Dalekmaster on the Amazon.com forum for Corsi’s book Where’s the Birth Certificate? it was suggested that Corsi’s article “may be actionable as copyright infringement” in the UK.

I say “more charges” in my title because Corsi was accused in 2006 of plagiarism for a WND article stolen from Debbie Schlussel.

Update:

According to the Turning the Scale web site:

WND posted this at the top of its story late Thursday afternoon: “Editor’s note: The following article is based on a paid, 8,000-word report by Kenyan researchers commissioned by WND. Unknown to WND, the report included unattributed references to a July 25, 2008, story by the Evening Standard of London. WND included a link to the 2008 story to back up the claims of the report, which WND believed was original. WND regrets the error.

Hey, I hear ya.’ Those Kenyan con men can be pretty slick.

About Dr. Conspiracy

I'm not a real doctor, but I have a master's degree.
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63 Responses to More plagiarism charges leveled at Jerome Corsi

  1. bernadine ayers says:

    i like that picture… this is cause billa yers wrote the obama book right ? (jack cashill)

  2. Corsi at his finest. I wouldn’t expect anything less from him.

    Merry Christmas Obotopians.

  3. G says:

    I hope you are joking instead of being stupid.

    Bill Ayers did NOT write any of Obama’s books. That is completely made up nonsense. If you’ve fallen for those bogus rumours, then you are simply gullible and susceptible to being conned, simply because the lie fits your preconceived desire to wish there was dirt you could sling at someone.

    Wake up.

    bernadine ayers: i like that picture… this is cause billa yers wrote the obama book right ? (jack cashill)

  4. bernadine ayers says:

    are these more charges by the same person ?

    is this the same debbie schlussel from this wikepdia article ?

    When the Virginia Tech Massacre occurred on April 16th 2007, the police told the press that the shooter was an “Asian male” Schlussel was quick to tie it to Muslims, saying in a racist tirade that “Pakis are considered Asian,’” and that it could be “part of a co-ordinated terrorist plot by Pakistanis.”[20]

    i think jack cashill thinks he did. i’d like to study it more. i’m sure it can be easily rendered, through software and literary expertise. if it’s true that would mean they know each other right ?

  5. Including the Confederate flag pin above the US flag?

    bernadine ayers: i like that picture

  6. No, the new charges are not by Debbie Schlussel. Why don’t you click on the links in my articles and read the background? Generally I expect folks to carry their own water around here.

    bernadine ayers: are these more charges by the same person

  7. JPotter says:

    It’s been so quiet over at Amazon ever since the more literate birthers wandered away …. and most of the illiterate ones got themselves banned!

    Corsi’s Fail had augur’d down to 70,000+ (quite a feat in a mere 6 months!) but has since rebounded to 40,000ish. Price of used copies is almost under the cost of shipping.

    This may indicate a supply / demand imbalance.

  8. bernadine ayers says:

    can i ask you a couple of things ?

    why go after corsi like this if he’s no threat to obama. if the birther movement is such a joke, why all of this ?

    you know that the issue would have died by now, if not for sites like this. why all of the drama and pageantry, energy and vigor ? ?

    i’ll read your links dr., but the first person to make these charges was appears to be a lunatic. are you guys still pissed about john kerry ??

    i carry my own water, don’t think for a second you carry my trust.

  9. bernadine ayers says:

    i don’t like the confederate flag… but what year was this picture.

  10. JPotter says:

    Speaking of WND legal action, whatever happened to the Esquire lawsuit? There’s a funny / helpful update at Gratewire ( http://gratewire.com/topic/cowardly-wnd-wont-link-to-esquires-reponse-to-its-lawsuit ) … similarly notes elsewhere, but since motions traded a few months ago …. WND may want the whole thing to drop down the memory hole, but I don’t! Anyone have an update since 9/30/11? Is it just sitting, waiting for court action?

  11. jayhg says:

    bernadine ayers: can i ask you a couple of things ?why go after corsi like this if he’s no threat to obama. if the birther movement is such a joke, why all of this ?you know that the issue would have died by now, if not for sites like this. why all of the drama and pageantry, energy and vigor ? ?i’ll read your links dr., but the first person to make these charges was appears to be a lunatic. are you guys still pissed about john kerry ??i carry my own water, don’t think for a second you carry my trust.

    There is no “all of this” you ignorant person. Birthers are so stipud that they think they are smart. Talking about you and making fun of you does not mean anyone thinks you’re important, bernadino.

    I talk about/make fun of/ridicule you birthers cause it’s entertaining and I will not just sit by and let them/you spout baseless lie after lie and when someone calls them on it, say “why all of this?” Why is because you’re an idiot and I like pointing that out and I enjoy it when others point it out but make no mistake, it’s NOT cause you’re important.

  12. Loren says:

    bernadine ayers:
    why go after corsi like this if he’s no threat to obama. if the birther movement is such a joke, why all of this ?

    i’ll read your links dr., but the first person to make these charges was appears to be a lunatic.

    I’m sorry…are you calling me a lunatic? Might I ask why?

    And as for why go after Corsi for this: because it’s the right thing to do. Jayson Blair wasn’t a “threat” to anyone. Stephen Glass wasn’t a “threat” to anyone. Plagiarists get exposed and lose their jobs because they violate the rules of good and honest journalism, not because they’re a “threat” to anyone.

    And respectable news agencies fire plagiarists.

  13. misha says:

    bernadine ayers: i carry my own water

    I’m impressed. How long can you carry it, and do you ever need Depends?

  14. G says:

    Are you seriously defending plagiarism by those that claim to be journalists? Seriously??? *rolls eyes*

    Obviously, you have no understanding of the concept or what journalism is supposed to be about. Plagiarism and lack of proper attribution has always been a serious charge, especially for journalists.

    Joe Biden’s earlier attempt at running for President was killed, merely for a minor mistake of making a quote without remembering to give it proper attribution *every* time he used it in a speech.

    Obviously, you never went to college or wrote many papers in school. Try passing something off that turns out to lack proper attribution. Plagiarism can result in automatically being failed for that paper…and sometimes even being failed for the class or kicked out. Entire lawsuits are filed and won based on the issue.

    The action he is being charged with has nothing to do with Birtherism and nothing to do with Obama either. Plagiarism is wrong – period. And a severe “no-no” for anybody who writes for a living and publishes their writings to a “newspaper”, whether online or not. It is an extremely bad no-no in any actual “journalist” practice.

    Your argument is just utterly silly. It is no different than if Corsi did some other standard crime (which Plagerism is), such as getting caught on a security camera stealing gas and driving off and we reported that news. The crime is the crime.

    He only merits attention here on this, because he’s a well-known figure in a movement we happen to monitor and report on. Same way that E! news will report on anything stupid that Paris Hilton does, regardless of if she has a reality-show going on or not. Paris Hilton is not a “threat” in the same way that Corsi is not a “threat” and simply reporting on crimes or antics or interesting events in the lives of a well-known characters in topic you cover is fairly standard practice. E! news reporting on that kind of stuff about Paris Hilton might classify as “entertainment”, but they didn’t make her do any of those dumb things…she legitimately brought them on herself. Their merely reporting on it is not in any way “going after” her. Same analogy applies here with this Corsi story.

    bernadine ayers:
    can i ask you a couple of things ?why go after corsi like this if he’s no threat to obama.

    Wow…and you wonder why you are treated as a Concern Troll. Fine, I’ll play along with your faux-concern.

    First of all, the birther movement * is* a joke. One of the reasons we cover it and pay attention is for the LOLZ. Look, you’ve got an entire movement based utterly on made-up fantasy, with a perfect string of utter failures, led by a bunch of incompetent and sleazy characters with colorful pasts and dubious accomplishments along with a bunch of deluded and zealous followers. Of course, there are serious reasons too – such as caring about facts and truth, not appreciating liars and con artists and being concerned about unhinged people becoming a danger to themselves and others. But in dealing with the bizarre world of conspiracies, part of the attraction is certainly the amusement that the sheer insanity of it all inherently brings along with it.

    It should be called the “virtual un-reality show”…because it is so bizarre and mostly only takes place on the internet. Same reason people can’t turn away from watching a train wreck or might tune into something like “The Jersey Shore” or “The Jerry Springer Show”. You want to turn away, because you are both horrified and repulsed that people like this really exist and act that way…but at the same time…you are entertained and amused by the insanity and utter stupidity of the whole thing…and even more so by the fact that such is obvious to everyone but the pathetic fools themselves.

    bernadine ayers:
    if the birther movement is such a joke, why all of this ?

    What utter BS. Cause and effect has already been explained to you, but you’ve chosen to ignore it and shamelessly try to pull this Concern Trolling nonsense again.

    No. The Birther issue exists SOLELY because the Birthers keep pushing it. They are 100% CAUSE. Monitoring and reporting on it is simply EFFECT. Get it? If all the Birthers went away and stopped pulling these charades, we’d be happy and wouldn’t still be here and this site wouldn’t need to exist. …And we could go onto paying attention to other matters that catch our interest.

    Wow, you really are from the school of people without any concept of responsibility, aren’t you? Sorry, but we have little sympathy for the “blame others” crowd. Everyone is accountable for their own words and deeds. If Birthers don’t like people calling them fools, then they simply should stop acting foolish. Cause and Effect.

    bernadine ayers:
    you know that the issue would have died by now, if not for sites like this.

    ??? No idea what you are talking about here. Care to explain?

    bernadine ayers:

    why all of the drama and pageantry, energy and vigor ? ?

    ??? huh ??? *blink* John Kerry??? *blink*

    Are you having a conversation with yourself that we are unaware of?

    Sorry, but John Kerry has no connection to Birthers or any topic here. I’m not sure what you are pissed off about John Kerry, but we could care less as there is nothing relevant to him and anything remotely connected to this topic. Weird, random and irrelevant remarks like this from out of the blue are why you can’t be taken seriously and comes across like you are distracted by talking to other voices in your own head instead of being able to focus and have an adult conversation here.

    bernadine ayers:

    are you guys still pissed about john kerry ??

    I’m not here to carry your trust. You have chosen to come here on your own accord. So far, hate to tell ya, but you haven’t impressed anyone and unlike the reasonable people who end up taking a detour here and pop in for a bit of conversation, you’ve handled yourself poorly and have only come across suspect. Obviously, you also lack self-awareness, as you haven’t gleaned that you’ve been only hurting your own credibility and leaving a bad impression of yourself.

    bernadine ayers:
    i carry my own water, don’t think for a second you carry my trust.

  15. G says:

    That is a good question. I haven’t heard any further updates on that case either.

    You might want to ask someone like Patrick over at BadFiction. (see weblink under “The Good” section below).

    He seems to be on top of everything and if he doesn’t have an update, might at least be able to point you to someone else that might or where to go to monitor for updates…

    JPotter: Speaking of WND legal action, whatever happened to the Esquire lawsuit? There’s a funny / helpful update at Gratewire ( http://gratewire.com/topic/cowardly-wnd-wont-link-to-esquires-reponse-to-its-lawsuit ) … similarly notes elsewhere, but since motions traded a few months ago …. WND may want the whole thing to drop down the memory hole, but I don’t! Anyone have an update since 9/30/11? Is it just sitting, waiting for court action?

  16. bernadine ayers says:

    LorenDecember 22, 2011 at 7:03 pm (Quote)#

    bernadine ayers:
    why go after corsi like this if he’s no threat to obama. if the birther movement is such a joke, why all of this ?

    i’ll read your links dr., but the first person to make these charges was appears to be a lunatic.

    I’m sorry…are you calling me a lunatic? Might I ask why?

    And as for why go after Corsi for this: because it’s the right thing to do. Jayson Blair wasn’t a “threat” to anyone. Stephen Glass wasn’t a “threat” to anyone. Plagiarists get exposed and lose their jobs because they violate the rules of good and honest journalism, not because they’re a “threat” to anyone.

    And respectable news agencies fire plagiarists.

    hi debbie, i never heard your name before today, is that your wikepedia page ? look wik is pretty liberal and i realise you’re a conservative. did you file suit ? are you comparing corsi to glass ? you think he is cooking the obama scandal ?

  17. Majority Will says:

    bernadine ayers: why go after corsi like this if he’s no threat to obama.

    Great. Then you won’t mind if people steal from you and take credit for your work.

    Of course if you have no morals, then I won’t expect you to comprehend this or right from wrong and never mind.

  18. bernadine ayers says:

    hi misha, has obama ever plagiarized ??

  19. bernadine ayers says:

    Majority WillDecember 22, 2011 at 8:04 pm (Quote)#

    bernadine ayers: why go after corsi like this if he’s no threat to obama.

    Great. Then you won’t mind if people steal from you and take credit for your work.

    Of course if you have no morals, then I won’t expect you to comprehend this or right from wrong and never mind.

    these charges have been settled in the courtroom.

  20. bernadine ayers says:

    JPotterDecember 22, 2011 at 6:42 pm (Quote)#

    Speaking of WND legal action, whatever happened to the Esquire lawsuit? There’s a funny / helpful update at Gratewire ( http://gratewire.com/topic/cowardly-wnd-wont-link-to-esquires-reponse-to-its-lawsuit ) … similarly notes elsewhere, but since motions traded a few months ago …. WND may want the whole thing to drop down the memory hole, but I don’t! Anyone have an update since 9/30/11? Is it just sitting, waiting for court action?

    i don’t remember who owns esquire or what is their political bent. why did they do that article ?

  21. Majority Will says:

    bernadine ayers: you know that the issue would have died by now, if not for sites like this.

    Then explain the ongoing existence of the heavily censored pro-birther echo chambers listed under THE BAD and THE UGLY at the bottom of this page.

    Explain the ongoing monetary and frequent flier miles contributions from birthers to birther lawyers like Apuzzo and Taitz to continue their quest to unseat the lawfully elected President of the U.S.

    Explain the many daily posts at freerepublic.com by fanatical birthers retelling lies to each other while comfortable in knowing that all opposing views are not tolerated.

  22. bernadine ayers says:

    i’m just saying,

    if it’s so fantasic and crazy, why bother ? it’s one of the things that compells me about this story…. that everyone says has been dead for three years. what’s up with that ?

  23. Majority Will says:

    bernadine ayers: these charges have been settled in the courtroom.

    To my knowledge, there is no lawsuit yet for the current accusations of plagiarism from the article Corsi published on DECEMBER 19TH, 2011 (caps intended).

    Are you not able to keep up with the present or is there a short term memory short circuit in your head?

    Copyrighted by WND for 2011:

    Obama’s legacy of broken promises – in Kenya
    School in family village named after him remains unfunded despite pledge
    Posted: December 19, 2011
    9:38 pm Eastern

    By Jerome R. Corsi
    © 2011 WND

  24. JPotter says:

    bernadine ayers:
    i don’t remember who owns esquire or what is their political bent. why did they do that article ?

    Because it was a hilarious comment on a then current event, “bernadine” LOL

    Not quite as funny as the LFBC release rendering the book doubly irrelevant …. and not anywhere near as funny as the WH Correspondent’s Dinner that weekend …. but very close.

    Why was it so funny? Because it pointed out exactly what an honest publisher would have done! Only chiselers looking to milk the rubes would refuse to pull the book. Did WND pull the book and come clean?

  25. G says:

    I don’t know, do you? Do you have any proof that he ever did?

    Have you ever plagiarized?

    Have you stopped beating your wife???

    bernadine ayers: hi misha, has obama ever plagiarized ??

  26. G says:

    What does their political bent have to do with anything?

    bernadine ayers: i don’t remember who owns esquire or what is their political bent. why did they do that article ?

  27. G says:

    Well charges have to first be made before any case is put together and sent to court.

    hmmm…you seem to argue that the court room is the arbiter here (which it would be at that point, yes)

    … yet the whole Birther issue has been taken to court and ruled upon in well over 80+ cases (I lose count).

    …And 100% of the court rulings have all been in favor of the same conclusions. So why do you still have questions on something that has been a consistently settled matter?

    bernadine ayers: these charges have been settled in the courtroom.

  28. G says:

    Why don’t you ask the Birther fanatics that and come back here and let us know the answer?

    The courts have consistently ruled the same way every time and told the Birthers no and they are wrong. Every authority has done the same.

    The questions have been asked for over 3 years and keep receiving the SAME answer. Even a total idiot should be able to get a clue at some point…

    Face it, that is what crazy is. Zealots and fanatics are utterly detatched from reality and have lost the capability to learn from their mistakes. They will simply keep making the same mistake over and over again and get the same results.

    Again, you seem to be incapable of understanding how CAUSE and EFFECT works.

    Very simple: If Birthers didn’t exist, this site would not have existed in response. If Birthers go away, we wouldn’t still be here. *duh*

    Question for you: If you stick your hand in a fire and get burned, who’s fault is it that you got burned? The fire or you?

    bernadine ayers: i’m just saying,if it’s so fantasic and crazy, why bother ? it’s one of the things that compells me about this story…. that everyone says has been dead for three years. what’s up with that ?

  29. bernadine ayers says:

    At the time a defensive Obama, not particularly prone to saying “oops,” claimed that he and friend Patrick “trade ideas all the time.” Asked about giving another politician credit, Obama said, “I’m sure I should have,” adding that he doubted voters much cared.

  30. G says:

    I have no idea what you are talking about, as you make statements without providing any links to context. Is this some written document or merely some statement he made? People make verbal statements all the time without providing attribution.

    No comparison between those types of mistakes and the inexcusable act of a journalist committing a paper to writing that is a barely altered swipe from another published source, without attribution.

    You are on a lost cause here, trying to defend an indefensible act with the irrelevant excuse of trying to point a finger to someone else and say “he did it too”…and then coming up with some apples to oranges lame example that is nothing more that pathetically weak false equivocation.

    You can waste your time coming up with “actual” examples of other people plagerizing. Guess what… “he did it too” doesn’t change that what Corsi did or excuse his behavior.

    You only make yourself look bad for trying to defend the indefensible. The crime stands on its own. You’ve already lost the argument by not being able to bring yourself to acknowledge it and only look like a petty child trying to get out of it by pointing elsewhere and claiming “but he did it too”…

    bernadine ayers: At the time a defensive Obama, not particularly prone to saying “oops,” claimed that he and friend Patrick “trade ideas all the time.” Asked about giving another politician credit, Obama said, “I’m sure I should have,” adding that he doubted voters much cared.

  31. misha says:

    bernadine ayers:
    hi misha, has obama ever plagiarized ??

    I am much more concerned about Glenn Beck, and his possible involvement in a rape and murder in 1990, which he never denied. See the complete story:

    http://newyorkleftist.blogspot.com/2010/11/glenn-beck-accidentally-not-put-down.html
    and
    http://didglennbeckrapeandmurderagirl.blogspot.com

    Also, Mike Huckabee’s son caught a stray dog, and hung it. Huckabee, an ordained minister, put the kibosh on the state police’s investigation. Huckabee is also opposed to seperation of church and state: http://newyorkleftist.blogspot.com/2010/11/few-words-from-mike-huckabee.html

    Why aren’t you concerned about these real threats to the republic?

    Speaking of plagiarism, Hercules is the son of Zeus and a human woman? Don’t you ever question if that story was plagiarized?

  32. Keith says:

    G: Sorry, but John Kerry has no connection to Birthers or any topic here. I’m not sure what you are pissed off about John Kerry,

    In case you missed it, G, Corsi wrote the 100% codswallop Swift boat book. It poisoned the well about Kerry and his War ‘hero’ status.

    And yes, bernie, all right-thinking people are justifiably still ‘mad’ at Corsi for that lying, poisonous hit piece. Filth like that has no place in the American political idea marketplace.

  33. jayhg says:

    bernadine ayers:
    At the time a defensive Obama, not particularly prone to saying “oops,” claimed that he and friend Patrick “trade ideas all the time.” Asked about giving another politician credit, Obama said, “I’m sure I should have,” adding that he doubted voters much cared.

    Good Lord you’re crazy…………and desparate.

  34. Keith says:

    bernadine ayers:
    i’m just saying,

    if it’s so fantasic and crazy, why bother ? it’s one of the things that compells me about this story…. that everyone says has been dead for three years. what’s up with that ?

    ‘We’ are merely noting and commenting on Birther movements (I chose that word (‘movements’) on purpose). That may be anally retentive of ‘us’ but at least it isn’t our waste product, its yours and people you seem to identify with and agree with.

    We aren’t keeping it going, you are. The Doc has expressed several times that he is tired of it and it has gone on at least two years longer than he thought possible.

    But its like a car crash, you just have to slow down and watch.

  35. Keith says:

    bernadine ayers:
    At the time a defensive Obama, not particularly prone to saying “oops,” claimed that he and friend Patrick “trade ideas all the time.” Asked about giving another politician credit, Obama said, “I’m sure I should have,” adding that he doubted voters much cared.

    Context? Link? Date? Subject? Location? Topic? anything?

  36. G says:

    Keith, I’m well aware of Corsi’s infamous past.

    Still, that has absolutely no connection to Corsi’s current incident of being caught committing flagrant plagiarism.

    People’s like or dislike for Corsi, including reasons for keeping track of his behaviors are completely irrelevant to the crime he committed…and more importantly, completely irrelevant justifications to *defend* what he just did.

    Keith: In case you missed it, G, Corsi wrote the 100% codswallop Swift boat book. It poisoned the well about Kerry and his War ‘hero’ status.And yes, bernie, all right-thinking people are justifiably still mad’ at Corsi for that lying, poisonous hit piece. Filth like that has no place in the American political idea marketplace.

  37. Northland10 says:

    The article now has an editor’s note and various changes. The explanation is that their “researcher” provided the unattributed information. Alrighty then.

    http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=379341

  38. Loren says:

    bernadine ayers:
    hi debbie, i never heard your name before today, is that your wikepedia page ? look wik is pretty liberal and i realise you’re a conservative. did you file suit ? are you comparing corsi to glass ? you think he is cooking the obama scandal ?

    Please come back when you’re sober and intelligible, and I’ll be happy to answer your questions. As is stands right now, you seem incapable of even correctly identifying the main subject of Doc’s post. Or recognizing that I, Loren, am the same “Loren” identified in said post.

  39. Lupin says:

    “bernadine ayers” has not denied (s?)he is a reptoid agent, and in fact has offered no proof whatsoever (s)he is not a reptoid. Certainly her command of the English language is a clue to her alien origins.

  40. Majority Will says:

    “Loren: bernadine ayers: hi debbie . . .”

    Ty: “I like you, Betty.”

    Danny: “It’s Danny, sir.”

    Ty: “Danny.”

    http://www.hark.com/clips/jcdjjgwccx-i-like-you-betty-dot-dot-dot

    (Caddyshack, 1980)

  41. ASK Esq says:

    bernadine ayers: if it’s so fantasic and crazy, why bother ? it’s one of the things that compells me about this story…. that everyone says has been dead for three years. what’s up with that ?

    Why do we and posters on other sites continue to speak out against birtherism? I notice that you don’t ask why birthers keep going even though the facts disproving their claims have been known for years. We keep going because the birthers won’t admit that they are 100% wrong. They keep spewing their filth and nonsense, hoping to gain converts.

    As it has been said, all it takes for evil to triumph is for good to remain silent. We refuse to remain silent.

  42. I speculate that it’s genetic. For humans to survive in society there has to be consensus about some things. This trait expresses itself in religious orthodoxy and political views. For us to survive as a species we have to enforce certain norms. I think this plays out in the birther arena where the “normals” feel compelled to stamp out the errant heterodoxy.

    For some it’s a game. For some it’s a puzzle. For me it’s perhaps the strokes I get from the online community that sprung up here. I certainly didn’t plan to be here three years when I started.

    bernadine ayers: if it’s so fantasic [sic] and crazy, why bother ?

  43. Tarrant says:

    Northland10:
    The article now has an editor’s note and various changes.The explanation is that their “researcher” provided the unattributed information.Alrighty then.

    http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=379341

    The simplest thing for him to do to make said claim at all reliable (ha) is to post the entire report.

    He says his “researchers”, led by a prominent former mber of the Kenyan Parliament, put together an 8,000 word report. Well no problem then. This article (remarkably) only uses the parts of the report that were plagiarized from other soùces. If there’s 7,000 other non-plagiarized(or plagiarized from someplace else) he could post this report, or name this mber of Parliament that compiled the report(one wonders if Corsi is frantically hoping a former member passes away in the next few days after which he can say “It was him!”).

    Of course let’s be realistic – there was no report. WND makes up anonymous sources as conversations all the time (Sheriff Arpaio has at least once ha to say publicly that he never had a conversation that Corsi reported to have had with him in a WND article). I their echo chamber – now with post deletion! – those people don’t care.

    Some person that posted the story on Freep was summarily banned. They don’t WANT to know the truth.

  44. Please note WND response to this story, included as an update to my article.

  45. Even if WND was honestly conned by their Kenyan source, it still goes to show that WND doesn’t do proper vetting of their sources. This is apparent from their crank document experts as well as the obvious repetition of repackaged blog articles.

    Sometimes it seems that the only criterion WND uses for judging sources is whether they say what WND wants to hear.

  46. G says:

    As BIll at Turning the Scale also points out, the Deputy Managing Editor of the London Evening Standard has been made aware of this and is making enquiries.

    The updated mea culpa by WND to cover their tracks still doesn’t go to the extent of providing proper attribution expected in journalistic standards (for both the words the story they “lifted” and the copyrighted photo that goes with it) and comes off less like an actual correction as a shameless attempt to merely shift blame to their alleged “unnamed” paid third party report “sources”.

    Those two publications from which most of this blatent swipe came from may still choose to take further action against WND, including demand their alleged “report” they claim they paid for to get this story…

    As Patrick at BadFiction points out, Loren’s report on this event has also been gaining traction in being noticed and reported at a number of other sites, including ConWebBlog, Slate and even LittleGreenFootballs.

    Dr. Conspiracy: Even if WND was honestly conned by their Kenyan source, it still goes to show that WND doesn’t do proper vetting of their sources. This is apparent from their crank document experts as well as the obvious repetition of repackaged blog articles.Sometimes it seems that the only criterion WND uses for judging sources is whether they say what WND wants to hear.

  47. nbc says:

    bernadine ayers: why go after corsi like this if he’s no threat to obama. if the birther movement is such a joke, why all of this ?

    Because I consider him to be a fool and a destructive person. Obama managed to totally disarm Corsi’s attempts to swift boat him by releasing his long form birth certificate. I find Corsi distasteful in what I see as a lack of honesty and transparency. The birther movement is a joke but they are still incredibly entertaining and I always found that ignorance and follies are best exposed as a learning experience to others.

    Come on, even you have to admit that Orly’s legal actions are just hilarious in the level of incompetence with rules, laws, legal precedent and administrative matters… Her claims are hollow and irrelevant, and are rightly ignored by the Courts and the legislators when possible. If the Courts really were to take notice, she would be the subject of many a legal sanction.

    Entertainment value… Mostly entertainment value… And an interest in going beyond the foolish claims and explore more likely explanations by applying logic and reason. It’s a fun exercise…

  48. nbc says:

    bernadine ayers:
    hi misha, has obama ever plagiarized ??

    Who knows. Do you?

  49. Majority Will says:

    bernadine ayers:
    hi misha, has obama ever plagiarized ??

    That is a loaded question.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loaded_question

    Would you be o.k. with being accused of a crime without any evidence whatsoever?

    Just someone’s suspicion solely based on hatred or fear of you?

    It’s a hypothetical question, by the way (so you don’t freak out).

  50. Keith says:

    Dr. Conspiracy: Sometimes it seems that the only criterion WND uses for judging sources is whether they say what WND wants to hear.

    I suspect that it is more likely that the only criterion is whether or not it stimulates the pay pal button.

  51. Daniel says:

    Keith: I suspect that it is more likely that the only criterion is whether or not it stimulates the pay pal button.

    Truthiness increases with the size of your donation.

  52. G: I don’t know, do you? Do you have any proof that he ever did?
    Have you ever plagiarized?
    Have you stopped beating your wife???

    bernadine ayers:
    At the time a defensive Obama, not particularly prone to saying “oops,” claimed that he and friend Patrick “trade ideas all the time.” Asked about giving another politician credit, Obama said, “I’m sure I should have,” adding that he doubted voters much cared.

    Context? Link? Date? Subject? Location? Topic? anything?

    http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/01/obama-state-of-the-union-plagiarism.html

    that was from the la times. i was pointing out the double standard of accusing plagiarism, when both biden and obama, have had similar problems. i don’t think jerry is a plagiarist at all.

  53. Well the fellow that candidate Obama was supposed who have plagiarized said it wasn’t:

    The man credited with writing Sen. Barack Obama’s “power of words” speech today called the plagiarism accusation “not fair” and said it was an attempt to “belittle his ability to motivate people.”

    Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick told “Good Morning America” that Sen. Hillary Clinton was wrong to accuse Obama of poaching his lines.

    “It’s an elaborate charge and an extravagant one,” Patrick said.

    The accusation has dominated the debate as Obama and Clinton battle for votes in today’s Wisconsin primary.

    http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Vote2008/story?id=4310143&page=1#.Tvinzlb9V24

    Has the original author made a similar declaration in the case of Jerome Corsi’s plagiarism?

  54. Majority Will says:

    bernadine ayers: i don’t think jerry is a plagiarist at all.

    Where’s your evidence?

  55. G says:

    Thank you for providing that source and explaining your rationalization.

    It appears that you are using a defensive posture of grasping for false equivocation to justify the unjustifiable and missing the point entirely in regards to both the serious problem of journalistic misconduct being criticized and the underlying point that plagairism is a practice that earns deserved ire and criticism whenever it occurs. The very article you cited reinforces these very points, which seem to still have gone over your head unnoticed.

    Perhaps you need to re-read your own article source again and this time in full. In particular, reflect upon this section:

    Plagiarism is much more serious in the academic world than in the free-for-all world of politics where no patent exists on such common, trite phrases as “The time for action is now!” Or, “With all due respect, my opponent is wrong.” Or the ever annoying, “moving forward.”

    Reporters who’ve logged hundreds of political speeches over the years are also struck by the amazingly identical nature of certain humorous anecdotes shared with appreciative audiences by self-deprecating politicians about what their precocious children are said to have said to them once.

    And, to be honest, politics being the world’s second oldest profession, there are likely few words or combinations of words that remain truly original over the milennia.

    Two key points seem to be alluding you. First, the defensive posture of justifying an improper act by trying to distract to point the finger elsewhere and say “he did it too” is utterly childish and you need to learn to outgrow such immature bad habits in your nature. Bottom line, because someone else also did wrong doesn’t make what the original person did any less wrong.

    You seem to fail to grasp the very point of this article existing in the first place: Any incident of plagiarism, great or small, appropriately receives criticism and condemnation for the practice – period. It is simply improper on its face. The article woudn’t exist if Obama wasn’t being held to account. Same with Biden. Heck, Biden’s entire earlier Presidential campaign hopes were ended, because of the stigma and concerns of plagiarism. So as you can see, these incidents of suspected plagiarism *did* result in both valid criticism and a degree of real consequences.

    The second and even more important point here is that there are different degrees of plagiarism that can take place and the severity of where it is a concern also rightly varies, based on the environment and platform in which it takes place. In other words, in any field where the accuracy and ownership of written words and concepts is a key property to those fields, plagiarism is a much more serious offense. Hence, it is appropriately an absolute “no-no” for academia and students – as those arenas are about being able to demonstrate that you can learn and come up with answers on your own. Same with the field of journalism, which is supposed to be about accuracy and proper sourcing and attribution. The offense of plagiarism is a serious offense in these arenas, as they rely on the written word. The issue is also one of intellectual property rights, where the measure of one’s work and their earning potential relies to some extent on the value of their written product. Such is true, both for the categories already stated as well as for the entire literary and artistic industries. This is why you can’t just go lifting copywritten materials or components of songs, movies, etc.

    When you have the written word, there is very little excuse for failing to include proper attribution to your sources. Particularly so if you are a journalist…as citation is a key component to their job. As your own article already pointed out, this is very different from the sloppier and more common instances of sloppy plagiarism that can crop up all the time in fields that are driven by verbal expression, such as political speeches. Concepts, anecdotes and memorable lines are picked up and shared by people all the time in speeches and their dialogues with each other. It is simply endemic to human nature and how memes spread. Attribution for the original statement maker is infrequently included, as “footnoting” is simply a structure that fits very clumisly into the realm of spoken word and frankly serves more to interrupt and distract from a message instead of serve its attribution purpose.

    Therefore, such “lifting” in these spoken circumstances is both more understandable in human nature and easier to occur by simple harmless omission or even utterly intended error. Hence why the true origin of most spoken words, phrases and statements get so easily lost in the midst of time. People relay lingo, analogies and anecdotes all the time that they’ve simply picked up from somewhere else. Heck, that is how “urban legends” are created. We all do it and it is not at all the same as intentional plagiarism. People remember and pass on statements in speech. The analogy remains and is passed on. The origin of who said something to you first may become utterly forgotten in the process. Therefore, accidental and utterly innocent situations of speech-related plagiarism can happen easily.

    As your very own article pointed out, such things will happen in the nature of political speeches all the time. With the spoken word, one can always clarify a source for an idea or phrase upon further questioning. The spoken word by its nature leads to better success by conveying a summary concept first and then expounding upon detail and citation only when further detail is requested later. That is pretty typical and harmless.

    Therefore, it really is an apples and oranges comparison to point to lesser offenses of speech-based plagiarism by political speech and those that occur in written based circles, such as journalism, where one is expected to review and verify their work before publishing it and to include all proper citations to other published writings.

    Finally, the extent of plagiarism in play also impacts how serious the offense is. There is a huge difference between someone who failed to properly quote a few sentences as belonging to others and pretty much “lifting” someone else’s writing in near entirety and only changing a few words and calling your own. The latter is an utterly inexcusable offense in any context. This is what WND did in this situation and why this is such a serious offense for a news organization to commit and not just minor criticism.

    In conclusion, what WND did simply has NO justification and is an egregious violation of journalistic principles and intellectual property theft. There simply is no justification or defense for their actions in this situation. Nor is any weak attempt to deflect to examples of extremely different instances of lesser plagiarism charges in others relevent at all in addressing the specific issue of what WND did and why it is wrong – PERIOD.

    bernadine ayers: bernadine ayers:At the time a defensive Obama, not particularly prone to saying “oops,” claimed that he and friend Patrick “trade ideas all the time.” Asked about giving another politician credit, Obama said, “I’m sure I should have,” adding that he doubted voters much cared.Context? Link? Date? Subject? Location? Topic? anything?http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/01/obama-state-of-the-union-plagiarism.htmlthat was from the la times. i was pointing out the double standard of accusing plagiarism, when both biden and obama, have had similar problems. i don’t think jerry is a plagiarist at all.

  56. Majority Will says:

    G: Two key points seem to be alluding you.

    Interesting, informative comment but two small notes.

    I think you mean eluding and not alluding. They are almost homonyms.

    And “easily lost in the midst of time” is “mist of time” (http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/lost+in+the+mists+of+time). Another tricky homonym.

  57. Daniel says:

    Well said G. Too bad it will be lost on the concern troll.

  58. G says:

    You are correct! Good catch, thank you!!

    I’d admit I’m starting to develop some bad spelling & vocabulary habits, due to the seductive nature of quickly firing off commentary responses in blogs.

    A wise reminder to myself (and the birthers out there) of why pausing before posting, in order to double check the accuracy of what you say and write, is so important!

    Majority Will: Interesting, informative comment but two small notes. I think you mean eluding and not alluding. They are almost homonyms.And “easily lost in the midst of time” is “mist of time” (http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/lost+in+the+mists+of+time). Another tricky homonym.

  59. G says:

    Thanks Daniel.

    I understand that risk and accept it. As the old saying goes, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”

    Even knowing that, I feel my personal responsibility to to still lead an obstinate horse to the water instead of leave them out in the desert. Their choice to die of thirst at that point is now solely on them.

    Also, once myself or others have given them all the help they need, their excuses to blame anyone else for still being thirsty are on record as having been publically taken away. Therefore, not only do they only have themselves to blame if they remain thirsty, but also any insincerity of asking for help has also been exposed.

    Daniel: Well said G. Too bad it will be lost on the concern troll.

  60. You made very well some of the points I was planning to make before Miss Ayers left. One very important difference is that Corsi plagiarized copyrighted written material word for word. So if Obama lifted a few phrases from another speech by Deval Patrick without attribution it was at most a discourtesy while what Corsi did is at the least a serious breech of ethics and possibly an actionable offense. Political speeches are not generally covered under copyright protection. Articles and photographs are generally under copyright.

    G: Thank you for providing that source and explaining your rationalization.

    It appears that you are using a defensive posture of grasping for false equivocation to justify the unjustifiable and missing the point entirely in regards to both the serious problem of journalistic misconduct being criticized and the underlying point that plagairism is a practice that earns deserved ire and criticism whenever it occurs. The very article you cited reinforces these very points, which seem to still have gone over your head unnoticed.

  61. G says:

    Well said!

    Reality Check: You made very well some of the points I was planning to make before Miss Ayers left. One very important difference is that Corsi plagiarized copyrighted written material word for word. So if Obama lifted a few phrases from another speech by Deval Patrick without attribution it was at most a discourtesy while what Corsi did is at the least a serious breech of ethics and possibly an actionable offense. Political speeches are not generally covered under copyright protection. Articles and photographs are generally under copyright.

  62. Loren says:

    So in their Editor’s Note, WND says the fault lies with “Kenyan researchers”?

    OK then; so how do they explain this, from ten days earlier?

    http://barackryphal.blogspot.com/2011/12/wnds-aaron-klein-cribs-from-cnn.html

  63. G says:

    Great research & detailed work as always Loren! Kudos!

    Then again, is anyone surprised that WND would regularly do shoddy work and simply “lift” what someone else has already wrote?

    Is anyone surprised that a mere con artist front masquerading as a “news site” would have no scruples or journalistic integrity at all?

    Loren:
    So in their Editor’s Note, WND says the fault lies with “Kenyan researchers”?

    OK then; so how do they explain this, from ten days earlier?

    http://barackryphal.blogspot.com/2011/12/wnds-aaron-klein-cribs-from-cnn.html

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