Jill Abramson's book on 'the fight for facts' in the news business hit with accusations of plagiarism

Former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson would like to move some copies of her new book, “Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts.” However, she raised quite a few red flags with her admission that she never records interviews because she’s “a very fast note-taker” with “an almost photographic memory.”

Now that the book is out, Michael C. Moynihan, a correspondent for HBO’s Vice News Tonight, is claiming not only that the book is full of errors but that it also plagiarizes several sources.

So…Jill Abramson's book has finally hit bookstore shelves. A few weeks ago, reading a galley copy, I noticed an egregious error about my colleague @adrs. She tweeted it out, a shit storm followed, Abramson corrected the mistake.

— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 6, 2019

*All three* chapters on Vice were clotted with mistakes. Lots of them. The truth promised in Merchants of Truth was often not true. While trying to corroborate certain claims, I noticed that it also contained…plagiarized passages.

— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 6, 2019

The following examples from the final book—not the galley—are only from the Vice chapters (I didn’t check the others). So let’s begin…Here is Abramson on Gavin McInnes (whom she interviewed) and the Ryerson Review of Journalism https://t.co/hx0XcyZ89k pic.twitter.com/qroN59gyVk

— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 6, 2019

This passage, on former Vice News editor Jason Mojica, is lifted from a 2010 Time Out magazine piece, with small modifications: https://t.co/csNoONZQhX pic.twitter.com/aiQzwKEStl

— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 6, 2019

This paragraph can be sourced to two places: a *masters thesis* and a 2013 New Yorker piece by Lizzie Widdicombe https://t.co/ZWX5RgKxla https://t.co/Ux6gdDO9Qg pic.twitter.com/tSIKyRoKDP

— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 6, 2019

There’s lesser stuff too; still problematic. At various points in Merchants of Truth, rather than toil in the archives, reading old issues of the magazine or watching old Vice videos, Abramson liberally borrows from those who have: https://t.co/Ux6gdDO9Qg pic.twitter.com/mEvufhFJ3J

— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 6, 2019

There’s plenty more–enormous factual errors, other cribbed passages, single or unsourced claims–but this should give a sense.

— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 6, 2019

The book ends with a final wag of the finger, reminding me that my colleagues apparently don’t possess “the expertise to compete on the biggest news stories.” If Abramson is the arbiter of ethics & expertise, I think we’re doing just fine.

— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 6, 2019

So … Abramson’s book about the business of news and the fight for facts is allegedly riddled with errors and passages lifted from other sources.

Wow. Damning thread regarding blatant plagiarism in former NYT Executive Editor Jill Abramson's new book. https://t.co/hAyW7tArc1

— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) February 7, 2019

Read the whole thread, but tl:;dr Jill Abramson's new book is riddled with factual errors and blatant plagiarism https://t.co/YDFYFiVary

— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) February 6, 2019

?Thread. Serious problems with Jill Abramson’s new book—including allegations of plagiarism. https://t.co/z55l58plEx

— Christina Sommers (@CHSommers) February 6, 2019

It blows my mind that people still resort to this level of plagiarism in the age of Google searches. How do they ever expect to get away with it??? https://t.co/RDzqulSAUy

— neontaster (@neontaster) February 6, 2019

They do get away with it.

— Aaron W. (@WWeingrad) February 6, 2019

Plagiarism watchdog @mcmoynihan’s latest affirms what many suspected of @Jillabramson ‘s book: That it’s lazy, tendentious, and most ironically, tramples the very notion of journalistic rigor and ethics she writes so sanctimoniously about. https://t.co/cMJqZeDd2H

— Andrew Glazer (@andrewglazer) February 7, 2019

What's the title of that book again?

— Anthony Barra ?? (@AnthonyMBarra) February 7, 2019

she's plagiarizing a damn master's thesis? Man, if only this much work had been put into doing original work (or citing it)

— Mike Rosenberg (@ByRosenberg) February 7, 2019

Christ you don't want @mcmoynihan on your ass like this. it doesn't end well. https://t.co/7qbnHD2AWe

— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) February 7, 2019

wow. you’d think editors would hv caught the plagiarism, if not the outright lies.

— jr schmitt (@cloudspark) February 6, 2019

Books are not fact-checked. In your contract, you swear that the work is all your own. That's it,

— Frances Dinkelspiel (@Frannydink) February 7, 2019

Read the thread. I predict a writing assistant or ghost writer is about to be thrown under the bus. And that's the 'best' case scenario. https://t.co/RYu5P01AjZ

— Adario Strange?? (@adariostrange) February 7, 2019

The kraken has been released

— UberSteve (@UberSteve) February 6, 2019

Omg pic.twitter.com/KwcFBPjF91

— rmrx8 (@rmrx8) February 7, 2019

Uh, wow. Or, to describe Abramson's (*cough* plagiarism *cough*) "writing" sham wow.

— Dean Gloster (@deangloster) February 7, 2019

She worked too long at the NYT, she was used to her writing being provided to her by politicians and bureaucrats.

— Chris Nodimas? (@CholeraFan) February 7, 2019

DUDE we're doing Socialism now. With Socialism, it's Sharing, not Plagiarism.

— Cal Wheeler PhD (@cal_phd) February 7, 2019

Abramson was just asked about this on Fox. She says she “certainly didn't plagiarize in my book" https://t.co/F0rx6VYnJ8

— Jon Passantino (@passantino) February 7, 2019

Just now on Fox, @JillAbramson said she hasn't looked at @mcmoynihan's thread yet, but she also said "I certainly didn't plagiarize in my book." So she's denying it — without looking at the charges first.

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 7, 2019

Usually in these situations there are 3 choices: (1) say you're a plagiarist; (2) blame a research assistant (awkward for journalists, as it means you didn't write the whole book); (3) say you got mixed up between what you wrote & what you or an assistant copy-pasted. Stay tuned. https://t.co/Es9tdIYbP1

— Robert Wright (@robertwrighter) February 7, 2019

Related:

'This is insane'! Ex-NYT editor Jill Abramson is straight-up bragging about her journalistic malpractice https://t.co/Buu07BfX3l

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 5, 2019