Plagiarism: A Time Bomb or the Path to Success?

Plagiarism is a severe issue in the world of academia. In fact, it is considered to be a violation of the ethical code of society as a whole. Instead of using reliable and trustworthy sources to compose unique work that presents their own opinions, many students decide to copy and paraphrase other people’s content.

Students are aware of the fact that plagiarism is wrong. However, they keep relying on copying, paraphrasing and rewriting practices, especially when their professors expect the work to be done ASAP.

The problem with plagiarism isn’t limited to education. It’s also present in the world of music, writing, politics, art, marketing, and anything else you can think of. Almost everything can be copied and slightly adjusted to be presented as something new.

The great Nikola Tesla once said “I don’t care that they stole my idea… I care that they don’t have any of their own.” The lack of ideas is one of the most important reasons why people decide to copy others. They are facing great expectations they cannot neglect, so they decide that the easiest way to solve the problem is to present another person’s idea as something original.

Is the desire for gaining recognition stronger than the fear of being caught cheating? What if no one catches you cheating? Maybe instead of facing public condemns about plagiarism, they will achieve great success?

There are several examples of people who have achieved great success in different professions although they have been caught in plagiarism. Their reputations haven’t been significantly tainted, mainly because of their accomplishments, which were more important than the dark marks on their work. 

1. Melania Trump

She’s currently the most popular example of plagiarism. Donald’s Trump wife was a little too inspired by Michelle Obama’s speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The plagiarized parts are completely identical to Mrs. Obama’s speech.

After the huge media attention this speech inspired, it remained unclear whether Melania wrote that speech herself (that’s highly unlikely), the writer of that speech was a plagiator, or the team of writers pulled a master troll trick on her. Whatever the case was, Melania continued supporting her man in the battle for the presidential title like nothing happened. With all that drama around the campaign, no one even cares about the plagiarism issue.

2. Dan Brown

Whether you like his work or you’re not impressed by its mainstream value, you have to admit one thing: Dan Brown is one of the biggest contemporary literature stars you can think of.

In 2006, Dan Brown faced an intriguing lawsuit . Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, the authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, claimed that Dan Brown plagiarized the main idea for his plot from the book they originally published in 1982. The two authors lost the appeal , but the whole world realized that Dan Brown wasn’t as creative as his fans claimed him to be.    

Still, his book preserved the status of a bestseller, people continued buying his subsequent publications, and Hollywood fell in love with the plagiarized idea.    

3. Jayson Blair

As a reporter for The New York Times, Jayson Blair was a recognizable face in journalism. In 2003, after the suspicion raised by an editor at San Antonio Express-News, The Times investigated the plagiarism issue and found that at least 36 of Blair’s 83 articles for the newspapers were marked by plagiarism, fabrication, or other unethical practices.

The reporter used material from other newspapers and online sources, he concocted scenes, and he fabricated comments.

Today, Jayson Blair is a life coach, and he reportedly makes $130 per hour advising his clients. Although his career in journalism was over after the huge plagiarism scandal, we can’t say that his life was ruined by it.

4. Jack London

Jack London hired Sinclair Lewis (who won a Nobel Prize for literature after this case) to supply plot ideas. Egerton Ryerson Young accused London for taking ideas from his book My Dogs in the Northland (1902) to form the plot for The Call of the Wild (1903). London didn’t ignore being inspired by that book. In fact, he claimed to have written a letter to thank Young for being such an inspiration.

The 7th chapter of London’s novel The Iron heel (1908) is almost identical to the Bishop of London and Public Morality – an essay that Frank Harris published in 1901. London’s excuse was epic: he claimed he believed that the essay was a genuine speech the Bishop of London gave.

It seems like plagiarism helped Jack London to write his most famous works. Today, everyone has heard about The Call of the Wild, but not many people know that the idea was plagiarized. We love that book, after all.

5. Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King’s plagiarism is a very sensitive issue because he was such an inspiring figure in the civil rights movement during the 1950s and 60s. As it appears, even idols can disappoint. King was accused of plagiarising parts of his doctoral dissertation, as well as parts of his speeches (yup, I Have a Dream included).

Boston University investigated the accusations and found that they were justified. Still, King’s degree wasn’t revoked and the University claimed that the dissertation still contributed to the field.

These five examples prove something we didn’t expect: plagiarizing practices actually helped some people to become successful, and it didn’t seriously affect their reputation after being discovered. Does that mean we should just copy other people’s work? Absolutely not. Think about it: aren’t you disappointed to find out you’ve admired some people for ideas that were not their own?

Plagiarism may get you out of trouble when you’re trying to complete a paper in a hurry or make a point in a discussion. Will it make you feel good about yourself? Not if you get caught. And, sooner or later, plagiarism does come to the surface.

People, just dig deep to find your own ideas! They do exist.