Have you ever been asked to Plagiarize?
I have been working as a full-time freelance writer for quite some time, but yesterday I experienced a first. A client that I have been working with for a couple of months sent me an email asking me to copy work from another site. At first, I thought that I may have misunderstood the email. In order to clear things up I responded to the client asking for some clarification. And much to my surprise, they wrote back asking me to plagiarize from several sources on the net.
As you can imagine, it took me a couple of minutes to gather my thoughts. This client had been good to me for over a month, and seemed to enjoy my work. So when he asked me to plagiarize, it took me by surprise.
Obviously, I wrote back to the client explaining the situation. I told him that I am strongly opposed to plagiarism, and that it could get both of us in trouble with the original content producer.
At this point, I have yet to hear back from the client. Even if he decides that he wants to continue without copying the work of others, I am going to turn down the offer. Sure, he is offering good rates, but it is not in my best interest to work with somebody who is dishonest.
What would you do if presented with this situation? Hopefully I am not the only one who would ditch this client. Even though the pay was good, it is important to draw the line somewhere. Not being able to trust this client will make a long term relationship next to impossible.
What do you think?
March 12th, 2008 at 11:27 am
That’s a new one. Why do you need to hire someone to plagiarize for you? Seems a simple matter of cut and paste if they want to go that route.
I’ve had to stop using the occasional freelancer because I caught them plagiarizing. Never the other way around. I mean, I’ve used different websites as examples of what I’m looking for, but have been specific in not wanting to copy them. For one thing, it’s not right. And, for another thing, it would be duplicate content which will get you penalized in the search engines. Plus the search engines also make it easier for you to get caught if you do plagiarize. So, even if someone doesn’t have any qualms about plagiarism, there’s still no benefit to it.
And, really, why pay someone to plagiarize when you could pay them for original work? It just doesn’t make much sense.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:29 am
dcr - you’re telling me! When I got the request I thought it was a joke. Quite suspicious to say the least…
March 12th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
I hope that was just a test of your morality
Like you, I have never heard anyone ask for this in the freelance writing area, but it does happen quite a bit with the freelance programming. I’d often hear things like “I want a program that does exactly the same thing as X, but I keep the source code and get credit.”
It makes me wonder why they don’t just buy Program X and use it, instead.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
What an awful experience. Good for you for standing your ground and refusing to plagiarize.
Not to defend your client, because what he did was inexcusable, but some people honestly don’t realize that articles that appear on the internet aren’t free for the taking. I still come across articles that I’ve written with other writers’ names attached. When I can track down and confront (e-confront?)the person who did it, they almost universally respond, “But it was online!” Good grief!
March 13th, 2008 at 2:36 am
I’ve seen requests for writing “something like what’s one that website over there”…but never “copy stuff from here and there.”
That’s awful.
March 13th, 2008 at 6:01 am
I’ve had a similar request a couple of times, though not so blatant - usually they ask to use the other sites as examples. As Debra said, often people don’t realize what they’re asking - they think if it’s on the Internet, it’s public domain.
I explain about copyright and duplicate content, and if they understand and agree, will take the job. I use the suggested sites to get a feel for the style the client wants without using any of the site’s content.
March 14th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Chris -
Let’s hope that the client didn’t understand that it’s wrong (like Debra said). I’m glad you’re willing to stand up for yourself and what you believe. No income is worth doing something dishonest.