Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

November 29, 2014

An Epidemic of Plagiarism

Salaried plagiarizers, and stay-at-home re-writers, have turned Indian country journalism into a sweatshop of stolen words and photos

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News

The plagiarism by stay-at-home reporters has become an epidemic in Indian country. It is plagiarism, compounded by deception. Salaried plagiarizers, and stay-at-home re-writers, have turned journalism into a sweatshop of stolen words and photos. They make sure you, the reader, do not know that they are not present on news stories.

The formula is like this. Stay-at-home plagiarizers receive a paycheck for staying home and stealing others work. They plagiarize it without permission, or rewrite it, and steal a photo from the web to go with it. Just ask Indian Country Today Media Network "reporters" if they have been present on the news stories they have been covering for the past few years.

Don't be fooled by the plagiarizers and stay-at-home reporters. Ask them if they were present on the news stories. Look at the byline and see who wrote the article. Look at the photo and find out who took the photo. Find out if the real writers and photographers were paid.

Take a look at Google News and Facebook, you'll see who Indian Country Today is plagiarizing. Search Google Web and you'll find the authentic writers. Ask who the Indian Country Today editors are and find out if they were plagiarizing when they were reporters. Ask them whether they were ever present on news stories. The reporters who were present know this.

Other websites copy and paste news without permission. If there is advertising on the page, it is illegal profiteering and a violation of copyrights. One of these websites is Native American Encyclopedia, which is violating copyrights and profiteering with advertising. The publisher refuses to respond to Censored News and identify the publisher.

These days many unemployed reporters and grassroots activists are spending the little money they have to provide live coverage and breaking news. Plagiarizers are profiteers, just like corporate profiteers, who steal others hard work for their paycheck. They are a sweatshop of stolen words and photos.

In another category, the owners of the Indian news website indianz.com in Nebraska have received a multi-million dollar US contract for domestic and international spying with an office at the US Pentagon. Indianz.com also posts the work of others, with or without permission.

One of the many problems with systematic plagiarism, and profiteering from others work, is the fact that the real news is not covered, and remains censored, because of the agendas of fraudulent media sites.

Please support authentic journalism and the hard work of those out there spending their last dimes to provide you, the readers, with news.

Best, Brenda Norrell
Censored News

Censored News was created by Brenda Norrell, a longtime staff reporter for Indian Country Today who was censored, then terminated by ICT. Brenda Norrell has been a reporter in Indian country for 32 years, beginning at Navajo Times during the 18 years that she lived on the Navajo Nation. Recently, Brenda at Censored News and Govinda at Earthcycles provided live coverage of the two-day American Indian Movement, AIM West Conference, in San Francisco and the three-day Boarding School Tribunal in Wisconsin. There were no other reporters present.

Now in its 9th year, Censored News has no advertising, salaries or grants.

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