"... to take and use as one’s own (the thoughts, writings, or
inventions of another person); to copy (literary work or ideas)
improperly or without acknowledgement."
Justice Harrington, Federal Court of Canada (source)
Justice Harrington, Federal Court of Canada (source)
In an online world, the plagiarism of one's work is hard to monitor. It does stand out, though, when it is done on a niche subject in a small community.
About a decade ago, a Facebook group called Vintage Winnipeg started up and soon became a pain for people who collected and uploaded images. The page would raid photo sites, online archives, blog posts, etc. to take photos and post them as their own without crediting the source. It is a big reason why postcard / glass negative / photo collectors don't share their new finds publicly anymore.
The well of photo sources for Vintage Winnipeg to vacuum up must have dried up as earlier this year the "Vintage Winnipeg Blog" began. Given its penchant for not crediting other people, I thought I would take a look at their posts. Here's what I found.
Part 1 - Influenza in Winnipeg post
Part 2 - Lewis B. Foote post
Part 3 - Jessie Kirk post
Part 4 - Assiniboine Park Zoo post
Part 5: - Winnipeg City Hall
Five more to come !!
This Vintage Winnipeg Blog post is almost word for word (and images) a post I wrote back in 2013 about the 1918 influenza pandemic that struck Winnipeg. See if you can spot the similarities in this paragraph by paragraph comparison.
(An email to vintagewinnipeg@gmail.com asking for its removal has had no response).
Vintage Winnipeg: The “Spanish” flu wasn’t Spanish at
all. Many believe that the first recorded case occurred on March 11, 1918 at a
military camp in Fort Riley, Kansas. A soldier reported flu-like symptoms that
morning and by lunchtime another 100 had fallen ill.
West End Dumplings: “The “Spanish” flu wasn’t Spanish at all. Many believe that the first recorded case occurred on March 11, 1918 at a military camp in Fort Riley, Kansas. A soldier reported flu-like symptoms that morning and by lunchtime another 100 had fallen ill (PBS). “
Vintage Winnipeg: “In the days to follow, more cases were reported in the Eastern U.S. as well as in parts of France and Spain. It was the Spanish media, not restricted by wartime reporting embargoes, that first raised a red flag about the illness, thus earning it the nickname "Spanish Flu”.”
West End Dumplings: “The “Spanish” flu wasn’t Spanish at all. Many believe that the first recorded case occurred on March 11, 1918 at a military camp in Fort Riley, Kansas. A soldier reported flu-like symptoms that morning and by lunchtime another 100 had fallen ill (PBS). “
Vintage Winnipeg: “In the days to follow, more cases were reported in the Eastern U.S. as well as in parts of France and Spain. It was the Spanish media, not restricted by wartime reporting embargoes, that first raised a red flag about the illness, thus earning it the nickname "Spanish Flu”.”
West End Dumplings: “In the days to follow, more cases
were reported in the Eastern U.S. as well as in parts of France and Spain. It
was the Spanish media, not restricted by wartime reporting embargoes, that first
raised a red flag about the illness, thus earning it the nickname "Spanish
Flu" or "The Spanish Lady" (Humphries).”
Vintage Winnipeg: “Despite influenza being well known
around the world, this was a new strain. It struck down the healthiest people
in society - those in the 15 to 35 age group (the same demographic that was
traveling the globe in large numbers during the War). The strain was
also incredibly deadly with studies suggesting it was 40,000 times more
virulent than common flu.”
West End Dumplings: “Influenza was well known around the
world, but this strain was unique. For one, it struck down the healthiest
people in society - those in the 15 to 35 age group. This was the same
demographic that was traveling the globe in large numbers during the
War. The strain was also incredibly deadly. Recent studies suggest
that it was 39,000 times
more virulent than common flu.”
Vintage Winnipeg: “On October 12, 1918 Gordon Bell, chair of the Provincial Public Health Board declared an emergency and decreed that effective midnight all schools, cinemas, church services and other such gathering places would be shut in Winnipeg and its suburbs until further notice. Soon after the restrictions were province-wide. “
Vintage Winnipeg: “On October 12, 1918 Gordon Bell, chair of the Provincial Public Health Board declared an emergency and decreed that effective midnight all schools, cinemas, church services and other such gathering places would be shut in Winnipeg and its suburbs until further notice. Soon after the restrictions were province-wide. “
West End Dumplings: “On October 12, 1918 Gordon Bell, chair of the
Provincial Public Health Board declared an emergency and decreed that effective
midnight all schools, cinemas, church services and other such gathering places
would be shut in Winnipeg and its suburbs until further notice. Soon after the
restrictions were province-wide.”
Vintage Winnipeg: “Despite its slow start, within a couple of weeks Winnipeg's public health system was overwhelmed by influenza. By October 31 there had been 1,910 cases in Winnipeg and 66 deaths. A big problem faced by Winnipeg's public health officials was that rather than go to hospital, (for civilians, the King George Isolation Hospital or a special emergency room set up on Logan Avenue), many of the sick preferred to stay at home.”
West End Dumplings: “Despite its slow start, within a couple of weeks Winnipeg's public health system was overwhelmed by influenza. By October 31 there had been 1,910 cases in Winnipeg and 66 deaths. A big problem faced by Winnipeg's public health officials was that rather than go to hospital, (for civilians it was the King George Isolation Hospital or a special emergency room set up on Logan Avenue), many of the sick preferred to stay at home. “
Vintage Winnipeg: “Despite its slow start, within a couple of weeks Winnipeg's public health system was overwhelmed by influenza. By October 31 there had been 1,910 cases in Winnipeg and 66 deaths. A big problem faced by Winnipeg's public health officials was that rather than go to hospital, (for civilians, the King George Isolation Hospital or a special emergency room set up on Logan Avenue), many of the sick preferred to stay at home.”
West End Dumplings: “Despite its slow start, within a couple of weeks Winnipeg's public health system was overwhelmed by influenza. By October 31 there had been 1,910 cases in Winnipeg and 66 deaths. A big problem faced by Winnipeg's public health officials was that rather than go to hospital, (for civilians it was the King George Isolation Hospital or a special emergency room set up on Logan Avenue), many of the sick preferred to stay at home. “
Vintage Winnipeg: “By the end of November 1918, Winnipeg
had faced 9,031 reported influenza cases with 526 deaths, about 10 per day,
before the numbers began to ease off and the public health order was
rescinded on November 27, 1918.”
West End Dumplings: “By the end of November 1918,
Winnipeg had faced 9,031 reported influenza cases with 526 deaths, about 10 per
day, before the numbers began to ease off and the public health order was
rescinded on November 27, 1918. (See below for the statistics.)”
Screen caps accessed March 29, 2020
1 comment:
Wow I feel rather bad that I had been following and reading their blog, had no idea the amount of plagiarism they were doing! I see today that the vintagewinnipegblog site was deleted, though so I would assume your emails got the message through to them.
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