Citing Plagiarism, Indian Journal Retracts Paper On Plagiarism

An Indian scientific journal has retracted a paper on plagiarism because — wait for it — sections of it were plagiarized.

In a notice, the Indian Journal of Dermatology said it was withdrawing a paper from 2014 titled "Development of a guideline to approach plagiarism in Indian scenario" by Thorakkal Shamim of the Department of Dentistry in Malappuram, in the southern state of Kerala, because sections of it were lifted from someone else's dissertation. Here's the notice:

"This article is being retracted as the manuscript has been found to be copied from the first round questionnaire of the dissertation entitled 'Developing a comprehensive guideline for overcoming and preventing plagiarism at the international level based on expert opinion with the Delphi method' by Dr. Mehdi Mokhtari."

Retraction Watch, where we spotted this story, notes that the Indian Journal of Dermatology has in the past cracked down on plagiarism, banning at least three groups of authors.

And lest you think plagiarism is confined to the world of academia (or journalism), we bring you a story from France, where Valerie Boyer, a lawmaker from the opposition UMP, is being mocked for proposing a law that would recognize the genocide of Assyrians by the Ottomans during World War I. French media reported that sections of the measure — including footnotes — were taken from Wikipedia.

The Washington Post adds: "Boyer is considered an expert on the topic among French politicians — an aspect which has raised larger questions over how much politicians really know about the goals they pursue."