7.1 Meaning of plagiarism

Plagiarism is presenting another person's words, ideas, images, sound, video, data or other creative work as one's own, without giving proper credit to the original source. In journalism it is one of the most serious ethical offences because it is a form of dishonesty: the journalist deceives the audience about where information came from and takes credit for work done by someone else. Plagiarism applies whether the material was copied from a newspaper, a website, a social media post, a book, a press release, a broadcast or a fellow student's assignment, and whether it was copied in full or in part. Example: a reporter who copies three paragraphs from a rival website's story about a fire, changes a few words and publishes it under her own name has plagiarised, even if every fact in the paragraphs is true.

Key terms

• Original source: The person or outlet who first produced the words, idea, image or information.
• Attribution: Stating clearly, in the story itself, where information or material came from.
• Citation: A formal reference to a source, used mainly in academic and research writing.
• Credit line: The name of the photographer, videographer or outlet shown with an image or clip.
• Paraphrase: Expressing another person's idea in one's own words, which still needs attribution.
• Common knowledge: Widely known facts, such as the capital city of Kenya, that do not need attribution.

Elements of plagiarism

1. Use of someone else's work: Words, ideas, images, sounds, data or structure created by another person.
2. Presentation as one's own: The work appears under the journalist's name or the outlet's name.
3. Absence of proper credit: The source is not acknowledged, or is acknowledged in a way that hides how much was taken.
4. Deception of the audience: Readers, listeners or viewers believe the work is original.

Intention is not required. Careless note-taking that mixes copied and original text still produces plagiarism, although deliberate copying is treated more severely.

Plagiarism and copyright infringement

Plagiarism and copyright infringement often occur together but are not the same. Plagiarism is an ethical wrong: failing to give credit. Copyright infringement is a legal wrong: using a protected work without the permission of the copyright owner, which in Kenya is governed by the Copyright Act, 2001. A journalist can commit one without the other.

Plagiarism and related misconduct

• Fabrication: Inventing facts, quotes, people or events. It is a separate offence but often found together with plagiarism.
• Falsification: Changing or distorting real information, such as altering a quote or a figure.
• Misattribution: Crediting information to the wrong source.
• Lifting quotes: Using a quote obtained by another journalist as if the speaker had said it to you, without stating where it came from.

Why plagiarism is wrong in journalism

• Dishonesty: It deceives the audience about the origin of information.
• Theft of effort: It takes credit and sometimes income from the journalist, photographer or outlet who did the work.
• Loss of verification: The plagiarist repeats material without checking it, so errors spread.
• Damage to credibility: Once discovered, plagiarism destroys trust in the journalist and the outlet.
• Breach of codes: It breaks the principles of integrity, accuracy and accountability in media codes of ethics.
• Legal risk: Where it also infringes copyright, it can lead to claims for damages.