An overt plagiarism case that raises serious concerns.
This story is a bit sensitive, so I’ll write it anonymously to protect the identities of those involved. My goal is to share this as a lesson for writers and readers — not to sensationalize the situation, but to emphasize its seriousness and discuss what we can do collectively to address it.
Plagiarism has been an issue for ages. While there are rules and regulations designed to prevent it, penalize offenders, and compensate victims, it remains a persistent problem. Medium, like many platforms, has a strict policy against plagiarism and zero tolerance for such practices. Despite this, we continue to witness cases in various forms.
The incident I’m about to share is unique, which is why I’ve decided to turn it into a short story to raise awareness and encourage the platform to enhance its anti-plagiarism measures. The case was identified by coincidence and has not yet been resolved, so I won’t include links or names.
What Happened Exactly?
In a closed community discussion, a new writer was discovered to have created identical stories to those of another writer. These weren’t just similar; they were identical, down to the titles and subtitles.
When the victim discovered this, they felt bad about it like a stolen baby and approached the plagiarist to understand what had happened calmly and professionally.
However, instead of responding constructively, the plagiarist immediately blocked the victim. Fortunately the victim happens to be a cybersecurity expert and knows how to deal with such situations.
So undeterred, the victim reached out to the offender through another platform, politely requesting that the plagiarized content be removed.
This is where things took an ugly turn.
Rather than apologizing for the mistake and deleting the blatantly plagiarized content, the offender arrogantly threatened the victim and refused to take down the material.
It is bizarre because it looks like online bullying to me.
I personally reviewed both the original and the plagiarized versions, and there’s no doubt the original predates the copies.
I know the the authenticity of the original creator’s work like many community members as they are a trustworthy person with verified checks in other platforms.
I also checked the plagiarist’s profile. Shockingly, their other content was just as suspicious — practically a Christmas tree of stolen material.
Why Medium fraudulent tools cannot identify such fake accounts and valuable content of authentic writers are flagged as spam and even their earnings are slashed as I mentioned in my 2-cent club story lately.
Many readers in the community reported the plagiarized content, and the victim submitted a ticket to Medium’s Trust & Safety team. However, because the incident occurred over the weekend, there’s been a delay in resolving it.
A Broader Concern
This case highlights a potential gap in the platform’s functionality. As someone whose account has been cloned multiple times in the past, I’ve wondered why Medium allows the creation of identical account names.
Thankfully, it seems this issue has been addressed in my case, as I’ve noticed cloning has stopped for me but it still happens for others including Medium staff which happened last week.
But now I’m left asking another related question:
Why does the system allow stories with identical titles, subtitles, and content to be published by a different author? Why doesn’t it flag to the support or Trust team for investigation?
I’ve heard that Medium’s system prevents duplicate content from being published by the same author. If that’s the case, why doesn’t it apply the same mechanism across all authors?
I hope Medium staff takes this issue seriously and invest time and effort to resolve it timely and create measures to prevent them.
What Can We Do?
This situation highlights the need for stronger measures to prevent plagiarism on writing platforms. While it’s encouraging to see the community rallying to report such cases, we need to explore more proactive solutions.
As an editor of multiple publications I and my team use occasional spot checks for some suspected pieces. For example if I see a very polished piece for a brand new writer, I check them using free plagiarism checking tools.
I wonder why this platform implement automated plagiarism detection tools? Shouldn’t stricter rules be enforced for offenders to inspire others not to attempt this dealy sin?
As writers, we have a shared responsibility to uphold integrity in our work and protect the intellectual property of others.
I hope this interesting incident serves as a reminder of that responsibility and sparks a conversation about how we can collectively address these exceptional issues.
What do you think about this bizarre situation, and what measures would you suggest to prevent such incidents?
I am very sorry to witness that many established writers are now leaving the platform and I am afraid such spammers and scammers might dominate this platform and break the community spirit.
I’d like to link a perspective from Dr Yildiz who hasn’t posted any story for the last 10 days and said he would not until Medium addresses this recent payment issue upsetting my authentic writers.
This Is My Last Story on Medium Until the Algorithm Is Fairly Adjusted
Publishing on ILLUMINATION publications will be paused until this unfair issue for authentic writers finds an amicable…medium.com
Please share your thoughts in his story to encourage the platform to take this issue seriously before it gets too late.
Here is another bug which is now framed as future which bugs me and many editors trying to clean this platform fro spammers, scammers, and plagiarizers.
Who the Hell Writes 15 Stories a Day? Medium, Stop Twisting the Truth & Remove Those Spammers!
Amid a payment fiasco rattling the digital writing world, Medium blames mythical spammers to dodge fixing a…medium.com
Thank your for reading my story.
As an editor and publication owner, I love introducing authentic writers to new readers to create visibility to their profiles and work. I read their stories and amplify them as a community building activity. Yesterday I introduced an established writer, Svyatoslav Biryulin with strong strategy skills.
Why You Should Meet Svyatoslav Biryulin, a Leading Strategist from Europe
This Strategist Turns Business Thinking on Its Head, and You Will Learn Why and How in This Short Intromedium.com
You may check out other writers I introduced:
Why I Like Hidden Gem Timothy Agnew and Why You Should Explore His Writing on Medium Timothy Agnew
Meet Dr Adam Tabriz, MD, on Health & Science Publication of ILLUMINATION Dr. ADAM TABRIZ
“Magic Is Present. An Introductory Story About Substack Mastery” Dr. Gabriella Korosi
Meet Ethiraj Srinivasan: The Data Engineer Who Lives a Thousand Lives Ethiraj Srinivasan
Meet Veroonica O E: Tech Wizard, Product Manager, and a New Writer Veroonica O E
Meet Naya Monroe on My Health & Science Publication of Illumination on Medium.com Naya Monroe, BCBA, LCDC-I
Congratulations, William F. Spivey, for the Recognition by the “African American on the Move Book Club” William Spivey
Meet Lawson Wallace on My Health and Science Publication on Medium Lawson Wallace
If you are a new writer, please check out our updated submission guidelines before sending your first draft so that our editors can publish them quickly. Here are the links to the guidelines:
ILLUMINATION, Curated Newsletters, SYNERGY (Newsletter Booster), Technology Hits, ILLUMINATION Book Chapters, Readers Hope, and Magnetic Newsletter Pro.
I am a retired healthcare scientist in his mid-70s, and I have several grandkids who keep me going and inspire me to write on this platform. I am also the chief editor of the Health and Science publication on Medium.com. As a giveback activity, I volunteered as an editor for Illumination publications, supporting many new writers. I will be happy to read, publish, and promote your stories. You may connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Quora, where I share stories I read. You may subscribe to my account to get my stories in your inbox when I post. You can also find my distilled content on Substack: Health Science Research By Dr Mike Broadly.
If you are interested in being a writer for my Health and Science publication on Medium, you can send your Medium ID via our writer registration portal here.
Lessons Learned from My Personal Stories
Edit descriptionmedium.com
Thanks for subscribing to Health Science Research By Dr Mike Broadly.
Leave a Reply