plagiarism

Claudine Gay's resignation highlights the trouble with regulating academic writing

4:02pm January 03, 2024

Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned Tuesday amid plagiarism allegations. Experts say improved technology could bring to light more alleged transgressions in past works by other academic leaders.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, pictured in 2014 when he was superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy, resigned Wednesday as president of the University of South Carolina.

University Of South Carolina President Resigns After Plagiarizing Part Of Speech

2:02pm May 13, 2021

by Becky Sullivan

The crowd gasped when Robert Caslen, a former Army flag officer, called the graduating students "the newest alumni from the University of California." But his bungled speech didn't stop there.

A Brief History Of Politicians Lifting Words From Other Sources

4:27pm July 19, 2016

by Eyder Peralta

Melania Trump isn't the only political figure who has given a speech that matched another person's words a little too closely. This is a short list.

Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin are defendants in a copyright lawsuit that accuses their band of lifting music from the song "Taurus" by the Los Angeles band Spirit.

'Stairway To Heaven' Plagiarism Suit Heads To Trial

2:05pm April 12, 2016

by Bill Chappell

A lawsuit claims that Led Zeppelin perpetrated a "falsification of Rock n' Roll History." A federal judge dismissed that part of the plaintiff's case.

Queue Listen Now

NPR Acknowledges Plagiarism In 10 Music Stories

12:25pm October 29, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Stories that appeared on NPR's music website were found to include portions of others' work, according to a joint statement by NPR and member station WQXR, where the stories' writer was based.

Twitter Takes Down Unoriginal Jokes, But All Of Yours Are Probably Safe

3:06pm July 28, 2015

by Laura Sydell

A freelance writer got the company to take down several unauthorized uses of her humor by what she says are robot accounts, but legal scholars say proving copyright on jokes is difficult.

World News

Citing Plagiarism, Indian Journal Retracts Paper On Plagiarism

12:12pm April 02, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

And in other plagiarism news, a French lawmaker is being mocked for lifting sections on the Assyrian genocide from Wikipedia to craft a draft law.

Music & Culture

Did Led Zeppelin Plagiarize 'Stairway'? A Pa. Judge Will Decide

10:29am October 27, 2014

by NPR Staff

You know that opening riff to Led Zeppelin's 1971 hit "Stairway to Heaven"? It sounds very, very similar to the 1968 song "Taurus" by the band Spirit. A lawsuit about the issue is moving forward.

Queue Listen Now