Plagiarism by Podcast? - iMediaEthics

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Podcasts may be taking over, but alleged plagiarism by makers of podcasts, and how to handle it, is new territory.

According to BuzzFeed, weekly true crime podcast “Crime Junkie” has been accused of plagiarism and failure to properly attribute source material.

In response, “Crime Junkie” has been unpublishing episodes accused of plagiarism. The podcast’s hosts also posted a statement saying they took down the episodes because “source material could no longer be found or properly cited.”

Later, “Crime Junkie” re-uploaded the podcasts in question and said sources were all “comprehensively cited on the blog.” Crime Junkie Podcast’s Facebook page reads:

“There is no greater priority for our team, or for me personally, than to ensure the highest levels of accuracy and integrity in our program. Our research process is thorough, rigid, and exhaustive, and those familiar with Crime Junkie are aware that we make clear references to the use of other sources and that comprehensive notes and links to all sources are made available on our show’s website.

“Consistent with our commitment to exactness, we recently made the decision to pull down several episodes from our main feed when their source material could no longer be found or properly cited. Since then, we’ve worked to put additional controls in place to address any gaps moving forward. The goal of Crime Junkie is to be an advocate for victims and a platform to educate about personal safety. Our work would not be possible absent the incredible efforts of countless individuals who investigate and report these stories originally, and they deserve to be credited as such. We are committed to working within the burgeoning podcast industry to develop and evolve its standards on these kinds of issues.”

Allegations included that of former Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Cathy Frye, who complained on Facebook about an episode that cited without credit her exclusive reporting on a 2002 murder, BuzzFeed reported.

iMediaEthics has written to “Crime Junkie” for more information about the podcast’s attribution practices.

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Plagiarism by Podcast?

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