It boggles my mind the depths that some people can go to when it comes to plagiarism. It seems that every few months, another incident of plagiarism in the book blogging community pops up, and the most recent incident involving The Story Siren is one of the most disturbing and noteworthy yet.
There are multiple blog posts and discussions out there about this incident already, so I am going to give you all a super quick summary. Basically, in a quest for new content, The Story Siren plagiarized at least 6 posts from multiple other non-book-related blogs, including Beautifully Invisible and Grit and Glamour. Beautifully Invisible was able to trace the IP address of the plagiarist, which led to The Story Siren. There is ample evidence, very blatant evidence in fact. You can see the evidence for yourself in these posts: I Think We’ve Been Plagiarized…Sort Of: The Story of the Content Thief from Beautifully Invisible, B*tch Stole My Content! Plagiarism: How to Deal With a Thief from Grit and Glamor, and the evidence is also reiterated and made even more clear in Beautifully Invisible’s follow-up response to The Story Siren’s “apology.”
For starters, the plagiarism that took place is blatant. It is obvious, deliberate, more than once, it is much more than a simple “mistake.” I can understand (on a certain level) how it can be accidental if a book blogger accidentally uses similar phrases in reviews and whatnot, but this is NOT what took place here. The Story Siren used content from other blogs, and did not credit or link back. Also, the Story Siren herself has previously written about plagiarism and condemned it. The fact that this has happened has turned Story Siren into a hypocrite of the worst sort.
As to the so-called apology… Here are both of the Story Siren’s responses: An Explanation and an Apology, and Clarification. As to the first post, I’m sorry, but that is NOT an apology. It is full of double-speak, no true admission of guilt. If I was the victim of the plagiarism, I would have been really offended. Even the “Clarification” is un-satisfying. To me, it seems that the apologies are insincere, Story Siren never fully fesses-up to wrong doing. Stating that the first apology was written out of emotion reeks of BS, that first apology was wordy, full of double-speak, it was not emotional in the least. Story Siren writes AROUND the issues, example: “While I did not recognize the blogs in question initially after continued correspondence I discovered I was incorrect in that.” Let’s face it Story Siren, you were proved wrong, you blatantly plagiarized. I would have respected her more if she had simply owned up to the offense in the beginning, if she was honest and addressed the issue when it arose instead of months later, and didn’t pander to her advertisers and publishers.
I do commend the Story Siren for removing the plagiarized posts, that WAS the right action, and yes, at least she does apologize directly to Beautifully Invisible and Grit and Glamour. However, my main question: Is that enough? I feel that this offense is severe, not just the plagiarism, but in the the manner of the response as well. The Story Siren was a well-established, well-respected book blogger. She KNOWS BETTER. Other blogs have been deleted for lesser offenses.
What I do not condone: I agree that The Story Siren should not be attacked personally, no name calling, bullying, etc… She made a mistake, a COLOSSAL mistake, but she is human. While I will not resort to attacking her personally, I have un-followed her. I was a regular participant in The Story Siren’s meme “In My Mailbox.” I will no longer participate in this meme.
The Bottom Line: The Story Siren has lost all respect from me. As a veteran blogger, she was held to a higher standard. She let down her followers, the book blogging community, and professionals in the industry. I am not sure what the consequences should be or will be in the end, and I am curious to see what happens. Plagiarism is ugly, it is hurtful, and it is a black mark for the book blogging and writing communities.
My question to you: What do YOU think the consequences of plagiarism should be? Should all be forgiven, should the Story Siren take a break? What would you like to see happen?
April 25, 2012 at 11:21 am
Stealing is stealing. There are no excuses that can make up for the fact that she didn’t write the content that she claimed as her own. It makes everything else on her site suspect to me and I will not be visiting again. I have never cared for the IMM meme so it’s no loss to me.
April 25, 2012 at 11:34 am
This is so hard for everyone within the blogger community. I think people need to do what works best for them. I have chosen to begin my own meme on Sundays called The Sunday Post and no longer support said blog. I feel sorry for all parties involved. However anyone decides to handle it..is their decision and I hope the blogging community as a whole will come together and support each other in this.
http://www.kimbathecaffeinatedbookreviewer.blogspot.com/p/sunday-post-meme.html
April 25, 2012 at 11:39 am
Love the Sunday Post idea! I will check it out this week!
April 25, 2012 at 11:36 am
I’m no longer participating in the IMM meme as well. I also took down the Debut Author Challenge button and removed that content from my Challenge page. I’ve thought about writing a post, but at this point, I would be beating a dead horse – and – I don’t want to give her even more attention that she doesn’t deserve. She certainly doesn’t deserve to be called names outside of hypocrite (because she is that for certain), but she deserves to lose followers and publishing/author contacts if it came down to it. To preach against plagiarism and then do it yourself shows absolutely no respect for the community you are a part of. And for her followers to back up that behavior… well, they are just showing their support for unethical practices. I don’t care if she’s human or not, she still knew what she was doing.
I have no respect for her now. As a person, I didn’t know her. As a blogger, I admired her. Now I don’t.
April 25, 2012 at 11:46 am
I totally agree with you!!! This was a huge mistake and there should be consequences. Honestly I think she should shut down her blog and take a long break! Smaller blogs have been shut down for smaller offense!!! She has given us book bloggers that work our ass off a bad name and that’s what pisses me off so much about it all! I’m not going to bash her though, but this is my opinion on what should happen!!!
I’m not doing IMM anymore either, have to figure out a different way to show off the books though!!!
April 25, 2012 at 12:07 pm
Here is my big problem with the matter first she did the right thing taking it down yes and no she shouldn’t be bullied but she also should have said no name calling and bullying of others on my behalf and that was done. Hell her victims where attacked by her supporters what the hell is that? Don’t those people have any decency? Most importantly she is a huge blogger probably the biggest she never needed to do this. I can understand being lazy about a post or not knowing what to come up with but with her contacts she could have asked almost any author to guest post or interview so it’s not like she didn’t have other content to post.
She took lazy to the extreme and all because she thought she could and now has lost the respect of many others. A total shame and waste.
April 25, 2012 at 12:11 pm
I agree, plus the fact that she stole so many posts… it’s just disturbing that she got away with it at all…. and making her victims into the bad guy- even worse
April 25, 2012 at 12:17 pm
Yeppers… I like your thoughts and I agree.
I think I would go so far as to say… I’d participate in her meme again if she admitted fault.
I don’t mean to say that she needs to jump through extra hoops, or nothin’ but she was cornered and forced into a type of apology, but her posts make it sound like it was weird coincidence more than any fault from her.
You’re right about respect… it’s just dropped drastically. I won’t be participating in IMM. I already join with The Sunday Salon, but it’s a little different. There’s the Monday Mailbox… or Sunday Post sounds interesting.
This will be quite the weekend, won’t it?!
Here’s my post:
http://burgandyice.blogspot.com/2012/04/not-so-perfect-are-we.html
and Sunday Salon:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/188946654450268/
Mailbox Monday described here: http://mailboxmonday.wordpress.com/ travels around being hosted by different bloggers, and in April it’s here: http://cindysloveofbooks.blogspot.com/
Huh. I’ll have to post about all that.
Sorry to start researching in your comment section!! lol
April 25, 2012 at 1:03 pm
I just keep thinking, do people honestly think they can get away with this? It hurts so much when it is done by someone people respect…I hope people think before they make the decision to do something irresponsible.
April 25, 2012 at 1:36 pm
I had no idea all of this was going on till a friend said what do you think? I was like about what? She sent me the info!
1) If I, you, or any other book blogger had done the same thing (as 90% of us are “medium-sized” blogs) we would have been ostracized from the community. There would be no defenders or 2nd chances.
2) With a leadership role comes great responsibility. If you fail in that responsibility you suffer the consequences. Ask any one of any field and they will tell you the same thing. It will go away quicker if you own up to your mistakes but if you make “politician answers”–it will stick around for a long time. Especially in this age of social media.
3) People should know that technology will catch you every time! I have had my article on e-books lifted twice and that has only been 2 weeks. In the age of pingbacks and paragraph searching—there is very little ways to hide plagiarized content. Even the most technical backwards person can set up a google alert on sentences and really that is all that takes.
4) It is sad that mob mentality created 2 lynch mobs (supporter/non-supporters) in very “bullying” types of ways. That is what saddens me about truly how book bloggers will be received.
I don’t think we will ever see “I plaguarized and I was wrong” post from Kristi.
That is sad!
I think the original bloggers handled the situation with a ton of class. I was very impressed!
April 25, 2012 at 2:15 pm
Felicia, the original victims Beautifully Invisible and Grit and Glamor handled the situation with high class, I definitely respect both of them for how they handled the situation to the best of their ability.
April 25, 2012 at 2:45 pm
They are a great example of how situations should be handled!
I sent their blogs to my fashion friends. I, on the other hand, have the fashion sense of redneck truck driver–no amount of help will help LOL
April 25, 2012 at 3:14 pm
The whole thing is just sickening. I haven’t been participating in IMM all that long, and I love the traffic it brings in, but there’s no way to stay after this.
Someone said it’s impossible to “sleep copy and paste” and that it, there is no way she didn’t know she was doing this. And that what she was doing was wrong.
And I’ll be looking for a substitute after this week. The idea is still cool, but not with Story Siren. Just no way.
This was a terrific summary of a horrible situation.
April 25, 2012 at 3:55 pm
Unfortunately, plagiarism is one of those things that hurts mostly those who are stolen from and probably won’t really touch the gal who did it. In this case, it has the potential to discredit other legitimate bloggers and I hope it doesn’t.
The sad thing is that using the content would not have been the problem if she had just given credit where it was due. Most bloggers are givers and would be happy to see something like these tips get out and get used. She just needed to give them credit. It sounds like this was more about trying so hard to live up to a big reputation and image that she was willing to give up her integrity.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
April 25, 2012 at 4:30 pm
Oh, wow. I’m really shocked. I had not heard about this incident until I read your post. (How out of touch am I? *cringe*) I’m not sure what the answer is. I didn’t follow her blog (I’m not into YA), but, yeah, she is a veteran blogger. I don’t get it!
April 25, 2012 at 5:09 pm
I agree with most of the others in that I will no longer follow The Story Siren or participate in any of her memes. Like Burgandy Ice, I probably would have stayed if she had just admitted the whole thing. The deception is what really got to me. The two victims behaved admirably, and I’m saddened that they are receiving hate mail and being bullied. Hoping this will blow over soon….
April 25, 2012 at 6:48 pm
Excellent post. This whole thing is tragic — it’s terrible that someone would stoop so low and terrible that so many other people have been pulled into it.
April 25, 2012 at 8:02 pm
I just found out about this. I am actually really sad that this happened. She was one of the best established book bloggers I know of and I didn’t understand why she had to copy someone else’s work. She has her own name. Lots of publishers and authors trusted her with their ARCs. She was on the top of the list and she let it all go. She threw it all away. I’m really sad that she didn’t even think about it. I think she was so sure that she won’t get caught. It’s sad that the trust that we’ve all given her is now broken. Plagiarism is plagiarism. No matter how much you twist it, it doesn’t change the fact that it is PLAGIARISM.
I’m really sad and disappointed.
If she loved the idea of someone’s work, she should have at least credited them for the idea and give out what she thinks of it. You can’t just pass it out as if it was really yours. She should have known better.
I do feel for her. She must be feeling bad about it. But we can’t just let it go. Her “MISTAKE” could be FORGIVEN but never FORGOTTEN.
April 26, 2012 at 5:48 am
Hi ya,
Great post and I have asked that same question on what should happen to her a number of times.
I totally agree that she should be held to a higher standard as she seemed to make posts regarding blog guidance to other bloggers. Practice what you preach girl!
I think the most damaging thing would be to do what many of your commentors have already opted to do. Unfollow her. Stop participating in her memes. No more comments on her site etc. Us bloggers love comments on our blogs and visits to our sites so I am thinking that is where it will really hurt her.
A newbie who starts out may not understand the full context of plagiarism. For instance, they may think just because it is not copy and paste word for word, they may think they didn’t actually commit plagiarism. Ignorance is no excuse but a newbie can make mistakes. The Story Siren appears to have been an experienced blogger whom should be held to that higher standard.
I bet she hasn’t slept properly since January. Her apology sucks. Never seen such a bad case of word play in all my life. It actually makes me angrier.
Michelle Kelly @AnotherLookBook
April 26, 2012 at 7:35 pm
Damn right! Really, all the hand-waving her followers are doing – it just goes to show that people can preach all they want about morals until someone they care about does something wrong – and then they’re content to stick their heads in the sand.
I’m not angry at the people who say they still want to be Kristi’s friend or even keep following her blog. I have no problem with that – so long as you can acknowledge that what she did was wrong. Too many of her followers want to convince other people (and probably themselves) that nothing happened.
BTW, great blog! Thanks for posting on mine!
April 27, 2012 at 8:20 pm
Well said… thank you for sharing your thoughts. When it all hit the fan earlier this week, I was in total shock and so disappointed. Particularly given that just days before I had just sent an aspiring book-blogger to TSS for inspiration and to her blog tips page for advice.
What TSS did was wrong on so many levels — the act itself and then all the non-apologizing and non-clarification afterwards. Yet, I genuinely feel badly that this will affect her credibility for a long time to come. Unfortunately there is a price to be paid for the bad choices and actions we take.
April 28, 2012 at 9:02 am
[...] multiple blogs, including at Smart Bitches, Trash Books, Smexy Books, Parajunkee’s View and Book Savvy Babe. This story is as compelling as any book you might review. All the more so because it took place in [...]
April 28, 2012 at 10:01 pm
[...] a blog post about it and shared my thoughts on the situation. You can read about it in my post: Plagiarism: Hot Topic Discussion. Because of the issue, I am no longer participating in In My Mailbox. So, I have decided to try [...]
April 29, 2012 at 9:15 am
I had to read this. I can’t believe she would do that. I just can’t believe it. I like you looked up to her and now this….I don’t think I will be participating in IMM in the coming weeks. I don’t think I can. I can’t condone this is anyway.
Wow…
Mary
April 29, 2012 at 9:23 am
I know Mary, the whole thing is beyond shocking. The more I read about the situation, the more shocked and upset I became. I hope this is a good reminder and lesson to us other bloggers. No matter what happens, integrity is very important. I hope I never let my readers and followers down in this manner
May 7, 2012 at 12:45 pm
I Just want to know one thing… How did she think she’d get away with it? Maybe because they were non-book topics?
But seriously, has no one noticed how everyone in the blogosphere knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who’d been to your blog?
Especially if the blog is huge.