Newspaper stealing posts

Esoteric_

Anyone else noticed over the last few months that each Saturday, in the Sun's Ben Dunne consumer issues column, there are almost always word for word copy-pastes of posts from the consumer forum here?

I doubt there's anything that can be done to stop that, but would be interesting to see if anyone else noticed it.

mathepac

There is of course. If what you say is correct it's plagiarism pure and simple and is one of the scummiest practices imaginable, taking credit for someone else's creative output and presumably getting paid for it.

It's happened with other prominent websites as well as with Inda's speech(es). I'm not sure how managemnt here regard this sort of stuff, but I'd guess they want to protect any IP the site has - unlike what you allege The Sun and Ben Dunne are at.

ahyeahok

If we quote a source external to this site we have to link to it, should really work the other way too.

Elmidena

I don't read the Sun but if there's any truth to this allegation it's absolutely despicable. If they're happy enough to plagiarise on a weekly basis then they should be shamed into admitting their crimes to its readership. Anything monetary or reputation damages from the corporation would lie at Distilled Media's discretion, although unless I'm mistaken they run thejournal.ie also, and I doubt they are foolish to hand over stuff from boards to a competitor with a smile and not care.

ahyeahok

Elmidena wrote: »

I don't read the Sun but if there's any truth to this allegation it's absolutely despicable. If they're happy enough to plagiarise on a weekly basis then they should be shamed into admitting their crimes to its readership. Anything monetary or reputation damages from the corporation would lie at Distilled Media's discretion, although unless I'm mistaken they run thejournal.ie also, and I doubt they are foolish to hand over stuff from boards to a competitor with a smile and not care.

There is one in todays Sun, pretty much a copy and paste of the OP's original boards post. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056674135

Here is another one that the OP agreed that his post was copied by the Sun http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=78680326

PC CDROM

A lot of boards is driven by external content. Thats is the modernifomationhighway

Skid

PC CDROM wrote: »

A lot of boards is driven by external content.

Which is (or should be) referenced on Boards where appropriate.

but that is not the same as The Sun copying and pasting a post from here and pretending someone has sent it in to them directly.

Elmidena

If this is a new article, it might be an underhand way of generating interest in the sector by making up letters. But to outright pirate--yes, pirate--their "letters" shows that corruption still exists to a degree. I know this doesn't compare on the same scale (or indeed anywhere near it) to the phone hacking, or the "phone in competitions" that were rigged from the get-go, but this is a new low. The Sun has never had a great name for itself, and as far as there being no such thing as bad publicity, this would be a case where it was not true. If they didn't actually get letters sent into them, then they could make up a letter or do an opinion/helplist piece. I reckon that this is more an intern's underhandedness than Mr Dunne himself, but whomever was responsible they should have at least had the cop-on to rearrange words etc so it wasn't open theft.

Makes me sad that I'm unemployed with an NUJ card whilst others can carry off these shenanigans and get paid to do it.

Esoteric_

The Metro Herald are at it, too.

this time, they copied something that I wrote in the Consumer Issues forum, as well as copying part of one of the helpful replies I received!

http://e-edition.metroherald.ie/2012/08/29/

ejmaztec

LyndaMcL wrote: »

The Metro Herald are at it, too.

this time, they copied something that I wrote in the Consumer Issues forum, as well as copying part of one of the helpful replies I received!

http://e-edition.metroherald.ie/2012/08/29/

The divils!

Page 17 re food-poisoning, to save people time so's they don't have to comb through the whole rag looking for it.

I hope you've recovered, it couldn't have been a pretty sight.:eek:

Esoteric_

Oh sorry, I copied the URL when I was on page 17, but obviously it doesn't change when you turn the page.

Yeah, I'm fine now.

Is there nothing boards can do to stop this kind of thing? I know that when we post here, it's in the public eye, but that doesn't mean I want it in newspapers. And I'm sure the other people who have been plagiarised don't either!

ejmaztec

I wouldn't begin to guess the legality of what they've done, but I'm pretty certain that the Metro Herald lawyers would soon start *bellyaching if we were to start using their articles without giving them credit for it.

* no pun on your complaint intended.:)


Some journalists are just plain lazy, and wouldn't even bother standing up if the building was on fire.

A cousin of mine worked as an office-junior for a national newspaper in Dublin years ago, and one of the travel journalists had to write an article on some holiday destination, even though he'd never been to the place. He sent her out to pick up a pile of brochures from various travel agents, then concocted his article as if he had spent time luxuriating in some 5 star hotel for a fortnight.