Senator Rand Paul Plagiarized from Wikipedia

[SummerMadness]

Senator Rand Paul Is Accused of Plagiarizing His Lines From Wikipedia

Senator Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican who is among his party’s top 2016 presidential prospects, has found himself accused of plagiarism.

But this case has an odd twist. Mr. Paul appears to have lifted words for a speech this week from a Wikipedia entry about a futuristic movie, "Gattaca," which imagines a world with a population that has been genetically engineered.

Rand Paul Has Given Speeches Plagiarized from Wikipedia Before

If he runs for president, perhaps he can hire staff from screen names on Wikipedia. :razz:

Plagiarizing is a big no-no. When I review manuscripts for scientific journals, one of the most important rules of research integrity is not to plagiarize. More importantly, it is important not ascribe other's work as your own.

Looking at Senator Paul's response, it is apparent he does not understand what plagiarism is:

In the course of a 25 minute speech, Senator Paul described the plot of a movie attributed it to the primary sources – the movie – in no way insinuating they were his own thoughts or ideas. If the text had been submitted for academic publication, of course it would have been footnoted. Only in Washington is something this trivial a source for liberal media angst.

The primary source was not the movie, the primary source of the text you plagiarized was Wikipedia.

 

[AceHero]

You'd think a Duke-educated senator would know how to paraphrase.

 

[SummerMadness]

I do not think education has anything to do with integrity. He probably sees it as a victimless crime, the same way researchers fabricate data for a grant proposal; in their minds, the ends justify the means. I just find it sad that he wants to turn this into an attack on "liberal haters" instead of just acknowledging and apologizing for his actions.

 

[Protocol11]

How do you plagiarize a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit?

 

[NightHawkeye]

How do you plagiarize a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit?

Hmm ...

Perhaps his speeches were so good that people added in segments to various Wikipedia articles.

 

[MachZer0]

Hmm ...

Perhaps his speeches were so good that people added in segments to various Wikipedia articles.

Perhaps Rand Paul added the segments himself

 

[SummerMadness]

How do you plagiarize a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit?

plagiarize

verb \ˈplā-jə-ˌrīz also -jē-ə-\: to use the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own words or ideas

They were not his own words, he lifted them from a website verbatim.

Hmm ...

Perhaps his speeches were so good that people added in segments to various Wikipedia articles.

The plagiarized sections from Gattaca and Stand and Deliver precede his speeches, so that is not the case.

 

[Sistrin]

Wow. I mean, just...wow.

This is all Maddow has anymore?

Once a movie is in the can the plot doesn't change, the events filmed don't change, the lines don't change. They remain the same forever. Two people talking about or reviewing or referencing the same movie, specifically the plot, are bound to repeat words because the plot they are referencing does not change.

Here, I will give you an example:

"In the movie The Shinning, a family spends the winter in a hotel reported to be haunted and fall prey to the spirits abiding therein."

There, I am sure I just plagiarized somebody somewhere.

In a related note:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtgYY7dhTyE

 

[Protocol11]

Ok, so who is the author of the blurb at wiki? I still think the notion that you can plagiarize wiki is silly.

 

[SummerMadness]

Wow. I mean, just...wow.

This is all Maddow has anymore?

Once a movie is in the can the plot doesn't change, the events filmed don't change, the lines don't change. They remain the same forever. Two people talking about or reviewing or referencing the same movie, specifically the plot, are bound to repeat words because the plot they are referencing does not change.

Here, I will give you an example:

"In the movie The Shinning, a family spends the winter in a hotel reported to be haunted and fall prey to the spirits abiding therein."

There, I am sure I just plagiarized somebody somewhere.

In a related note:

Treehouse of Horror XXIV Couch Gag by Guillermo del Toro | THE SIMPSONS | ANIMATION on FOX - YouTube

You do not seem to understand plagiarism either.

 

[AceHero]

Wow. I mean, just...wow.

This is all Maddow has anymore?

Once a movie is in the can the plot doesn't change, the events filmed don't change, the lines don't change. They remain the same forever. Two people talking about or reviewing or referencing the same movie, specifically the plot, are bound to repeat words because the plot they are referencing does not change.

The problem is that Paul lifted the text from Wikipedia almost verbatim.

 

[SummerMadness]

Ok, so who is the author of the blurb at wiki? I still think the notion that you can plagiarize wiki is silly.

The text was adapted from the plot synopsis on IMDb.

And if you think plagiarizing Wikipedia is silly, try handing in a paper with entire passages from Wikipedia in at school, or better yet to a journal. That thing will get rejected quickly.

 

[Sistrin]

You do not seem to understand plagiarism either.

I understand the left is desperate to destroy Rand Paul.

 

[SummerMadness]

I understand the left is desperate to destroy Rand Paul.

Did he or did he not plagiarize? It's a matter of integrity, and his response speaks volumes of his character.

 

[morningstar2651]

How do you plagiarize a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit?

Easy - you pass off other people's words as your own and fail to cite your sources.

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/02/

 

[morningstar2651]

Ok, so who is the author of the blurb at wiki? I still think the notion that you can plagiarize wiki is silly.

Why? Because the work has multiple editors? That doesn't mean it's okay to not cite wikipedia as the source of the content.

Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[morningstar2651]

The text was adapted from the plot synopsis on IMDb.

And if you think plagiarizing Wikipedia is silly, try handing in a paper with entire passages from Wikipedia in at school, or better yet to a journal. That thing will get rejected quickly.

That sort of laziness could get a student expelled.

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

Given that in this country, plagiarism doesn't stop even stop you from getting a national holiday in your name, it seems just a tad hypocritical to get worked up over this.

 

[AceHero]

I see what you did there.

snopes.com: Four Things You Didn't Know About Martin Luther King

 

[SummerMadness]

Given that in this country, plagiarism doesn't stop even stop you from getting a national holiday in your name, it seems just a tad hypocritical to get worked up over this.

Translation: I will attempt to change the subject by attacking someone else and then claim you supported them, thus making you a hypocrite.

Keep on truckin'.