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ConsumerAffairs.Com Plaigairism Strikes Again

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Tempus, Oct 13, 2006.

  1. Tempus

    Tempus Senior Member

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    I keep seeing this but it never ceases to amaze me.

    The "Joe Benton" byline at consumeraffairs.com blatantly rips copyright media stories, and changes just enough words to apparently avoid infringement issues. I've seen it with LA Times articles, Mercury News, AP, and many others.

    Here's the latest

    Reuters

    Consumeraffairs.com

    Compare:

    Reuters

    "The future market development has only limited predictability so any decision (on hybrid models) is tainted with uncertainties," Marius Lehna, project manager for the hybrid Audi Q7 sport utility vehicle, told automotive engineers attending the Aachen Colloquium industry congress on Wednesday.

    Consumer Affairs

    "The future market development has only limited predictability so any decision is tainted with uncertainties," Audi hybrid project manager Marius Lehna said.

    ---

    Reuters

    One of the core problems facing hybrids is the complexity of integrating two powertrains in one vehicle, leading to costs that he said cannot be fully passed on to customers.

    Consumer Affairs

    Integrating two powertrains in one vehicle increases costs considerably, and automakers are finding it difficult to pass those coast along to consumers, he warned.

    Etc Etc

    Paragraph after Paragraph lines up side by side. If they wrote the articles independently, the order of their thoughts are identical. They must be twins.

    The bylines

    © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

    vs

    By Joe Benton
    ConsumerAffairs.Com
     
    #1 Tempus, Oct 13, 2006
  2. BrianTheDog

    BrianTheDog New Member

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    Okay, I compared the articles side-by-side, and you're right that they read almost the same. It is possible that Benton lifted the Reuters article. However, to me it seems more likely that Audi sent out a press release that included all of those figures and quotes. If that's the case, then Reuters probably ran the release as-is, while Benton re-worded it and stuck on his byline.

    The Reuters version reads like a company press-release -- especially that last two paragraphs on page 2. Plus, notice the entire article is based on one person's statements, which were made at a conference. Even the fifth 'graph, the one that gives US market figures, ends with "according to Lehna." There is no verification of facts. There are no quotes from outside sources. There is no reaction from conference attendees.

    Yep, my bet is on press release.

    Of course, that doesn't change the fact that Benton (most likely) lifted it from somewhere.

    Any decent reporter would take that press release (or cover the conference) and expand it into a real news story. Is this just Audi's opinion, or do other manufacturers agree? What about dealers' perspectives? Do environmental or consumer groups have a reaction to Audi's opinion? And so on.....

    Oops... forgot to ask if you have other examples.
     
    #2 BrianTheDog, Oct 15, 2006
  3. Tempus

    Tempus Senior Member

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    Other Examples have been posted here in the past

    http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=19233

    The Mercury News article he cribbed isn't online anymore it seems.

    But, there's always his classic Prius Rage - Hybrid Haters article.

    http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006...rid_haters.html

    Which looks very much like the LA Times Article by Amanda Covarrubias

    I can't find it on the LAT site anymore, but it was reprinted all over, with proper attribution.

    http://www.southcoasttoday.com/specialsect...6/09special.htm

    Even the quotes are the same, and I can't imagine Mr. Benton coincidentally interviewed exactly the same people, or, even more improbably, got idential quotes from interviewing different people :)
     
    #3 Tempus, Oct 15, 2006
  4. BrianTheDog

    BrianTheDog New Member

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    Yep, I would have to say he lifted the LAT article.

    I wonder how ConsumerAffairs.com would react if someone were to use the "File a Complaint" form on their website to point out this guy's lack of ethics. Any respectable news organization.....

    :lol: :D :lol: :blink: :lol:

    Sorry. Any respectable news organization would fire a plagiarist immediately.
     
    #4 BrianTheDog, Oct 16, 2006
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