The New York Times reported on allegations of plagiarism against Vice President Harris, with an expert suggesting that Republicans were blowing minor violations out of proportion. The expert also blamed Harris’s plagiarism on technical difficulties. While the reaction to Harris’s plagiarism was benign, accusations of plagiarism against Joe Biden during his 1987-1988 presidential campaign were much more aggressive. Reports of Biden lifting excerpts from speeches and plagiarizing a law school paper were damaging to his campaign, leading to his withdrawal from the race.
The public was concerned about Biden’s alleged plagiarism, leading him to withdraw from his Senate duties to hold a press conference addressing the accusations. Ultimately, Biden withdrew from the presidential race a week later. During the press conference, Biden mentioned that the American people’s perception of his honesty would be crucial in determining the impact of the plagiarism scandal on his campaign. The New York Times reported that the plagiarism accusations against Biden derailed his campaign, with negative reactions from critics including independent columnist Lewis Grizzard.
Recent allegations of plagiarism against Harris, found by critic Christopher Rufo in her 2009 book “Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer,” were criticized by the New York Times. The paper quoted another expert who characterized the plagiarism as minor errors rather than intentional fraud. Rufo, along with an Austrian plagiarism expert, found several instances where Harris copied passages without attribution from sources like news reports, Wikipedia, and reports by various institutions. Rufo criticized the Times for lying and accused the paper of covering up the extent of the plagiarism in Harris’s book.
The Washington Post also covered the plagiarism allegations against Harris, attributing the “errors” to technical difficulties. Plagiarism expert Jonathan Bailey suggested that similar errors were common in writing from the late 1990s to around 2010, a period when electronic research was becoming more prevalent. Rufo criticized the Post for downplaying the plagiarism allegations against Harris compared to their coverage of first lady Melania Trump for similar acts. Rufo also brought attention to plagiarism allegations against former Harvard president Claudine Gay that led to her removal from the position.
The New York Times’ coverage of Harris’s plagiarism was met with criticism from Rufo, who accused the paper of minimizing the extent of the plagiarism. The Times reported that only five sections of about 500 words were problematic, and the passages did not take the ideas or thoughts of another writer. In contrast, the Times condemned Biden’s borrowed language in 1987, questioning how much a candidate can use another person’s language without proper credit. The Times raised concerns about Biden’s credibility and adaptation of others’ thoughts during the plagiarism scandal.
Despite the allegations of plagiarism against Harris, the response from the media and experts seemed more forgiving compared to Biden’s plagiarism scandal in the late 1980s. The accusations against Biden were deemed more damaging and led to his withdrawal from the presidential race. The differing reactions to plagiarism allegations against Biden and Harris highlight the evolving standards for political figures regarding intellectual honesty and attribution in their work.
