Wednesday, June 27, 2012

My name is Evie and I've been plagiarized. In a very weird way.

I've been following the whole Kristi The Story Plagiarizer thing quite closely, although I managed to stay away from the whole issue. But hey, here's the deal. It happened to me. In a very weird way. 

Allow me to explain in details. 

Just about an hour ago, I received an email from Kimberly who is a blogger at On The Wings Of Books. She alarmed me about a certain suspicious comment that was posted on her review of The Duff. She said, and I quote, "My blog is On the Wings of Books and this morning I saw a new comment on my review of The Duff. The comment was very... strange, because it didn't feel very comment like and when I clicked on the commenter it took me to some weird zombie website that has nothing to do with books. Since it was so weird I googled the comment and came across your review for The Duff on Amazon and your blog. It matches word for word."

And indeed, as I clicked on the link she provided me with, I saw that she was right. 
Here's a snapshot:


This person who posted under the name of Eesti took a part of my review of The Duff, copied it word for word, and used it to attract attention to some weird zombie site called Zombie 4 Modern Days. 
If you click on the Eesti there, you'll be taken directly to this site. Clearly one of the clever tricks to get more visitors. But seriously, how lazy can a person be to not bother to write an original comment? If you have nothing to say - don't say it! You have absolutely no right to use my review in any way. ANY WAY. 

Here's the snapshot of the part of my review that was copied:


If you click here, you'll be taken to the page where you can read the entire review.

And here's the snapshot of the website that you should avoid. A website that is being promoted by plagiarizing other people's hard work!



Now, I'm well aware of the fact that what happened to me isn't nearly as bad as what happens to people who have their entire work stolen and re-posted somewhere else. But it hurts just as much. It's a slap in the face from someone with no regard of other people's property.

How do I feel about it? 
I'm disappointed and enraged.

Disappointed to see people being as low as to even think of something like that.

Enraged that a review written by me to celebrate a wonderful and entertaining book that I very much enjoyed, is now being used to promote someone else's website. Thank you very much, ass-face! Great job! Hope you're really proud of yourself! 

Where do I take it from here? I feel that I should definitely do something about it. I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one who got plagiarized in a similar way, with a similar intent in mind, and whatever happened to me, might have been going on around the web for quite some time. And will most likely not stop unless I do something about it.

So my question is: how do I get this ass-face? I have no idea how to go about it. Honestly, it never even occurred to me that one day I'll be on a hunt for a plagiarizer. Ideas, anyone? 

Huge thank you to Kimberly for bringing this situation to my attention. I appreciate you taking the time to contact me about it - without you I would still be in the dark.

Oh, and one more thing.
FUCK PLAGIARIZERS! 

48 comments:

Think said...

Wow. I mean, wow. That was a low thing to do on their part. Have you emailed the website associated with said "ass-face" to see what they say? I would be raising some hell too if I were you! If you need any support from me, you got it.

Angie said...

I got a "review" comment on my review of The DUFF today, too! I seriously thought it was from your review at first, but it wasn't, so I just ignored. I ddin't even bother clicking on the profile!

But now seeing this post, I found whose review it was taken from, so I'll let them know!

pandalovesyou said...

Wow, way to go Kimberly for catching that and kudos to Angie above for same!

Felicia said...

So sorry to hear that! I tried going on their website to investigate, but they don't seem to have much, or am I just looking at it wrong? Either way, I think you should send them an e-mail, at least demanding to take it down. It's getting scary now these days, when people can just start taking your own words and making it their own. Good luck with the situation!

Angela @ Reading Angels said...

Wow, using other peoples reviews as comments. That is a new one. How crazy! Sorry this happened to you :(

Randi M said...

Wow...No suggestions since that is a really strange situation. So sorry you have to go through all this plagiarism crap. :( Best of luck!

sawcat said...

In the pixel artist world, if the artist finds their work being posted and claimed by someone else, and trying to contact the poster to take it down, they contact their webhost.

You could also start coding something into posts that can only be seen when copied and pasted (or you change the background color). But that gets annoying if you do change the background color, and only works on your blog.

Nereyda @Nick and Nereydas Infinite Booklist said...

Same thing happened to me last week! I was notified by another blogger that someone left a mini review comment on their blog and it was an exact copy of my review. Pissed me the hell off! I signed up for thefree copyright but I didnt know what else to do.
www.mostlyyabookobsessed.com
(same blog, new domain)

Sara @ Forever 17 Books said...

I keep getting comments on my reviews just like this! I didn't realize at first what was going on, but I googled it and sure enough... it was word for word from someone's review other than who left the comment. :(

Bonnie said...

Evie, I'm so sorry that happened to you! I have never even heard of plagirizing in comments before - I mean any form of plagiarism is bad enough but that is just a new form of low. I have no idea how to go about doing something about it, but I sure hope that someone else has some ideas. Keep your pecker up sweetie. :/

Mandy said...

I have a couple of comments like that on my blog. I think it could be spam, not sure. But there are a few around my blog, they are always reviews of the book that I reviewed and they just post a review. It's always from different names with different sites and its really weird!

Unknown said...

You know, it's really interesting that you mention this because for a while now I've gotten strange comments that are basically reviews. Just got one today. So I searched Google this time for particular phrases and sure enough it was someone's review named Emma on Goodreads but the name of the individual that left the comment was Brasil. I spammed it just in case that wasn't the same individual.

Why don't people understand that it's unacceptable to steal other peoples hard work? I don't get it at all.

TayteH said...

Wow, someone was lazy to do that. God, people are dumb! But anyways, you have connections. A lot. Use them. Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, etc. Use them to say to others about what happened to you and to NOT visit ass-face's site. And also try contacting the webhost person to see if they can take it down.

I wish you the best of luck with ass-face. Come out on top!

lauriehere.com said...

Hi!!!! OMG!!!! I've had that SAME PERSON ON MY BLOG, TOO!!! "BRASIL"!!! SAME ONE!!!!
Something strange IS going on!!! I wonder if she plagerized MY work???
She has NO FACE, just a grey or blue with that blank head!!!!
What IS going on????
I don't know and I don't know HOW to find out if I have been plagerized or not??? Hmmm???
WHAT are we ALL going to do???
It's this SAME person! "BRASIL"!!!
I can't even remember what reviews they were that she showed up on? Darn it1!!
I think we DO have to contact Blogger, Wordpress, or whoever it is that Hosts the website???
Let's ALL get together on this!
We NEED to make a list of EVERYONE who has had BRASIL leave a comment on their blogs!!
What else do you all think we should do???
ANY SUGGESTIONS, ANYONE???
I almost deleted her comment one time, too. It had NOTHING to do with my review. It was OFF the wall!
All I know is there are TOOOOO many of us with that person on our Blogs! Something IS UP!!!
I think it is those of us who write a LOT of book reviews. Hmmmm???
PLEASE keep me informed and on your lists as well. When I have the chance, I will TRY to go through my comments and see if I can find her.
THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS!!!!!
Laurie Carlson
http://www.lauriehere.blogspot.com
laurieisreading at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

Yep, no face and their link takes you to a blank page. I've figured out a trend though... I've had more of those 'comment reviews' from Italia, UK, France, Portugal and Espana. I went through and spammed them all so that they don't show up on my blog at all now.

Melissa said...

Awww, Evie, I'm so sorry to hear that happened to you! I'm a firm believer in karma and I always feel that when others do wrong, there is some wicked karma backlash coming their way. *big hug*

Anonymous said...

Wow! That's a new one. I'll have to be careful when I do reviews from now on. So sorry this happened to you. :(

Unknown said...

This is disgusting :( I am so sorry to hear that this has happened Evie!

I hope they get what they deserve!

Anonymous said...

That's really awful, how people just steal part of your review. And illegal, of course!

On my blog, comments from people that haven't commented before need to be approved. I always check to see what their website link is (often something commercial) and often don't approve them.

I too have had strange comments that were obviously taken from a review, but I never read them too closely. I always thought people just took them from my own review (the one they are commenting on) to look more authentic.

Anyway, blog owners should be vigilant and reove suspicious comments straight away.

Belle said...

Wow Evie, as soon as I started reading your post alarm bells were ringing in my head - because I got a very strange comment on my review of The Duff the other day as well! I've just googled the copy of the comment and it's been copy and pasted from another blog. I think it must be some kind of spambot. The link in the commenter's name takes me to a blank page. Very fish. I've left it up for now so you can have a look, but I'm going to delete it soon:

http://bellesbookshelf.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/review-duff-by-kody-keplinger.html

Obsession with Books said...

Oh Evie, I am so sorry this has happened to you :(

I have had strange comments on my blog as well recently (the name is usually a country) where excerpts have obviously been taken from reviews but I have learnt which ones are spam now and they are instantly deleted - they also caused a few issues where they would jam my blog as well so not too sure what was going on.

It's so disappointing :( I hope it is sorted out soon for you.

Jeremy Bates said...

That bites goat dung! People are so desperate to get people to their web pages these days. I hope you get it straightened out.

I have clicked on some links from blogs and wound up on You Tube so some B.S. video.

Now following thanks to Canada day Blog Hop!

Anonymous said...

People can be so stupid sometimes -_-
Sorry that you had to go through something like that, Evie. I know you must have felt extremely frustrated.
*hugs*

Jo K said...

I'm sorry this happened to you! What kind of a person does that. Spamming and letting everybody know about it is the first step to prevent them from doing this kind of stuff. Don't let it get to you! *hug*

Kimberly said...

Wow, I didn't realize so many other people were having this happen to them too :( I clicked on some of the links and they all take you to weird websites that only have the one thing on it so it does look like it's probably spambots.

It's very annoying that we have to deal with this at all. Hopefully whatever is going on will stop soon.

Lalaine said...

Excuse me ladies. But OmyfuckinGod. Evie, first of all im sorry this happened to you. You know this same person has also commented on my post here http://www.ficbookreviews.com/2012/03/immortal-rules-by-julie-kagawa.html?showComment=1337318858846#c1572384190803187684 the last persaon to comment on Immortal Rules review.

and I found out that this is Bookish Sarah's review. Hell, this asshole is on a roll! omg.

Ƹ̴Ӂ̴ƷFICBOOKREVIEWSƸ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ

Amy said...

OMG!! That person has posted comments on my blog too, but I never clicked on it or anything because I figured it was spam since it sounded like a review and not a comment. Apparently it was a stolen part of a review. That is so messed up!! So sorry that this happened to you. I don't know how to go about fighting back, but if you need help at all in any way let me know hon. :)

Kelly said...

Ohh Sorry that happened to you! I don't get it why someone would do that! At least you took a stand. I probably would have either cowered in a corner or screamed and still not fight it!

Unknown said...

Oh Evie, I'm really sorry this happened to you :( It sucks big time. I just can't believe it, I mean, seriously?! Who would post a "review" as a comment?! What's the point?!

It's an awful way to attract attention and it bothers me a lot... If you need anything just let me (and all of us) know, I'm sure more than one person here would do anything to help you.

Lots of hugs and thanks for the heads up... one can never be to sure or to careful but this clearly goes beyond everything ¬¬

Steph said...

This is so depressing. Sorry Evie :(

Tynga said...

Ive been receiving theses comments too! I actually posted about them: http://www.tyngasreviews.com/2012/06/new-extremely-weird-plagiarism.html

It really sucks because there no way to track if our reviews were copied since they are comments =/

Cayce said...

I've got two mini review comments on my blog, too:
http://nijiclovers.blogspot.com/2012/06/storm-elementals-1-by-brigid-kemmerer.html

http://nijiclovers.blogspot.com/2012/04/divergent-divergent-1-by-veronica-roth.html

I figure it's the same person with different names. But I have no idea how to catch this *** face.

Krista said...

I'm so sorry that happened to you, Evie. It really sucks and it's weird how they did it. From reading the comments it's also disheartening to know that it's happened to multiple bloggers.

Val said...

Wrong - that is just wrong. So tired of people who want to use what others have done to further their on wants. I"m sorry this happened to you.

Valerie
StuckInBooks.com

Unknown said...

OH MY FREAKING GOODNESS! I knew I hads seen that name somewhere... she left a "comment/part-of-a-review" in my blog too! I had to check review by review but finally found it.
Although is not one of your's which means I have to send the real reviewer an e-mail. Oh man, this sucks... now I have to tell this girl that some jackass is stealing (in some sort of way) her job.

Why do people do this?!

Genevieve Graham said...

Wow, you guys. That's so low! Go get 'em, bloggers!

Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer said...

Very sad.and i think the last two words of your post sums it up quite nicely!
Evie..i started following you through RSS..I have been following you forever on GFC, and just thought you hadn't posted lately because the last post on gfc shows April..LOL apparently I am not getting your post updates..hopefully rss will remedy this!

The Little Green Art Witch said...

Wow! That's crazy ... sorry that happened to you! On the bright side, someone thought your review was so incredible they had to steal it. A twisted compliment? Still very wrong, but it's always good to look for the bright side. :)
Danielle

Nikki S said...

I really think its like a Spam bot or something. I've been getting a bunch of weird mini review comments too until I Googled them and saw that they were from other websites. Then I clicked on the person who wrote the comment and saw where it came from and was like "Uhhh yeah, this cannot be a real person." I reported them as spam and haven't gotten one since. In short, you're still dead on about plagiarizing, but I think you're ok, its only spam....

Ashley @ Book Labyrinth said...

These ones are showing up EVERYWHERE lately... I don't know how it works, but I think it's like a spam bot or something. It doesn't make any sense to me, though, and I agree that it sucks to be plagiarized in any type of way. For all I know my reviews are being plagiarized like that as well. :/

Molli @ Once Upon a Prologue said...

Oh my gosh, this is awful. Man, people are just made of suck sometimes. I hope there is a way you can get them back, somehow! There's just NO excuse for stealing someone's hard work and time like that. *hugs tightly*

Arianne said...

you are one vocal lady :) sorry I don't know of a way to hunt down that person. hope u find a way though

Jessi (Geo) said...

Wow, that's awful!! I hope you get it all sorted out, Evie! Wish I knew what to do to help :(

roro said...

how horrid
sad it happned

Alexis @ Reflections of a Bookaholic said...

This is horrible. Please update us when you decide what you are going to do.

Sonia said...

Okay, this is like bizarre beyond my comprehension. For a COMMENT? What kind of utter lack of originality or just opinions calls for you to steal someone else's words IN A COMMENT? I'm just stunned.

So sorry that you're going through this, Evie :( If there's anything I can do, let me know. *hugs*

Sonia

Mel Chesley said...

Hmm... this is a very odd way to get followers to your site/blog. I would copy down the URL, contact the site host and let them know that they're doing something like this. First of all, doesn't matter if it is a comment, review or whatever. They stole your work. You read the book, you wrote the review. There is no good coming from this. Except someone being an asshat. If the site host people say nothing can be done, well, then so be it. Just blog about it and spread awareness, however, don't give out that person's link anymore. Sort of a kill switch. End the traffic to their site. If people are informed, they won't click the link.

Sarah (saz101) said...

Oh, Evie, I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I've been getting a few of these *very* strange comments, too, but I'd been ignoring them up until now. I'm going to go through and make a concerted effort to delete them. However, I just wanted to add that I think the advice you're being offered is correct. This would DEFINITELY be a violation of Wordpress terms of service, and you shoudl lodge a complaint.

A couple of other blogs these comments are linking back to are http://process4reality.wordpress.com/ and http://socialconditioning.wordpress.com/, though it's worth noting the comments *I've* received are plagiarising reviews from Amazon and other bloggers (I'll send you links to anything if it helps when you lodge a complaint).

If you submit a complaint to Wordpress, the more things you can send them, probably the better. They may discover that each of these blogs is originating from the same IP and deactivate them. Take note of the people who've said they've had these comments, and send as many links, and as much as evidence as you can. I'm sure anyone who's commented here would be more than happy to provide any information or links to help your case.

You can lodge a complaint against the user with Wordpress, here: http://en.wordpress.com/complaints/ I'd suggest Spam blogs or copyright violations. I hope this helps xx

So sorry you have to deal with this :(

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