Jump to content





Expert Weighs in on Kamala Harris's Book: Sloppy, Not Malicious


Social Media

Recommended Posts

image.png

 

Jonathan Bailey, a plagiarism expert, addressed claims on Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris had plagiarized portions of her 2009 book, *Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor's Plan to Make Us Safer*. Bailey’s assessment came in response to accusations first raised by German plagiarism watchdog Stefan Weber, who claimed that Harris had borrowed several passages from other sources without proper citation. Conservative activist Christopher Rufo amplified these concerns in a post on X, which was later reposted by Senator JD Vance, R-Ohio. 

 

Vance took a shot at the Vice President, writing, "Lmao Kamala didn’t even write her own book! I wrote my own book, unlike Kamala Harris, who copied hers from Wikipedia."

 

After reviewing Weber’s full report, Bailey concluded that while there were undeniable issues in the book, they did not stem from any malicious intent. Instead, the problems revealed what he described as "sloppy writing habits." He noted, “Harris’s book contained roughly two paragraphs copied from Wikipedia without citation. To be clear, that is plagiarism. It’s compounded by the fact that Wikipedia is typically not seen as a reliable source, and, according to Weber, there was an error in the information." 

 

Bailey added that it appeared unlikely that Harris or her co-author had any intention of presenting someone else’s work as their own. Rather, they had made poor choices that went largely unnoticed until now. He explained that, while the copied passages were indeed “sloppy to the point of negligence,” he did not believe there was any deliberate effort to deceive. "When you look at the portion of the book involved, the nature of the issues, and the citations provided, negligence remains more likely than malice in my eyes."

 

In his closing remarks, Bailey advised Harris on how to move forward, acknowledging the political complexities surrounding the issue. He made it clear that neither an outright dismissal of the accusations nor a severe response seemed appropriate. “Ultimately, I recognize that this view will make absolutely no one happy. I don’t feel that the book is a product of wholesale malicious plagiarism, nor do I think it’s free from problems. No matter your side, this will be an unsatisfactory answer.”

 

Plagiarism accusations have a history of derailing political careers. Notably, President Joe Biden’s first White House bid in 1987 was tarnished by such claims, and former Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned in 2023 after similar allegations, ending her brief tenure as the university’s head.

 

Based on a report from the National Desk 2024-10-21

 

news-logo-btm.jpg

 

news-footer-4.png

 

image.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Tug said:

Another words a nothing burger,I’m looking forward to reading it.

Wow... once again you surprise me. Saying it was nothing. If you turned in a paper for your University degree and it was found to be parts from another book... You would not get your degree. Making light of it seems to only work when it can be used to make a dem look good or a Republican look bad. Wrong is wrong. She used paragraphs from another writer.. plain and simple. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...