WASHINGTON,
D.C.- Plagiarism is back in the headlines. The German Education Minister
Annette Schavan recently resigned because of allegations of plagiarism in her
doctoral dissertation. There was also significant outrage when it became public
that the now discredited science journalist Jonah Lehrer was paid $20,000 to
speak at the Knight Foundation about plagiarism and other forms of journalistic
misconduct that he has engaged in.
Christopher
Robin of the Winnie Foundation feels that plagiarists are unfairly maligned. His
foundation conducted a survey, which proved that plagiarism scandals usually
result in weeks of extensive reporting and investigations, thus providing new
job opportunities for investigative journalists and academic committees. "Plagiarists create jobs for
others. They should be seen as heroes and not as villains, especially during a
recession when there aren't too many jobs out there."
Robin also said
that plagiarism may soon become a highly attractive career for US college
graduates. "Lehrer is becoming an excellent
role model. He shows that you can earn good money while you are engaging in
plagiarism. Even if you are caught, you still receive large
honoraria to speak about your misconduct. Plagiarists have excellent job
security."
Meanwhile,
the Cocaine Retailer Association of
Chicago (CRAC) says that at least three of its members are applying to the
Knight Foundation for an opportunity to give a lecture. "They would like to speak about how wrong it
is to sell drugs and some of them would be willing to do it for only half of the
Lehrer honorarium."
Image Credit: Bengt Ruda's chair and a plagiarized version via Wikimedia
Commons
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