If you happen to’ve been anyplace close to Substack in the previous few days, you could have seen point out of the plagiarism scandal at present tearing by the platform. With Substack’s #1 New Bestseller being accused of immediately lifting the work of one other author (and probably a number of others), questions are being raised in regards to the integrity of content material within the age of AI – and whether or not platforms themselves ought to be doing extra to penalise copycats.Earlier this week, social scientist Katie Jgln wrote a Substack put up accusing a person named Maalvika of plagiarising one in all her essays in 2024. This week, Maalvika turned Substack’s high new Bestseller after a brand new essay on ‘compression tradition’ went viral on the platform.Maalvika’s introduction (left) vs Katie Jgln’s (proper) (Picture credit score: Katie Jgln through Substack)”I rapidly pulled up my essay, revealed on February ninth, after which hers, revealed March thirteenth,” Jgln explains in her put up. “The title was totally different, although it conveyed the identical concept; nonetheless, the physique was a close to copy-paste job, with a couple of bits eliminated or modified and a few phrases swapped out, I assume to make it appear ‘totally different’ sufficient. However it wasn’t. My observations, metaphors, italicised emphasis (!), and the analysis I’d gathered stared again at me from her web page.”
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To make issues worse, in a TikTok video accompanying the plagiarised essay, Maalvika known as it “my most well-researched” Substack.In a now-deleted TikTok video, Maalvika known as the plagiarised essay her “most effectively researched” essay on Substack (Picture credit score: Future)The entire saga has given Maalvika the doubtful honour of turning into maybe Substack’s first ever ‘most important character’, with customers of the platform unified in condemnation of the purported plagiarism this week. Whereas it is not clear whether or not Maalvika’s different posts are plagiarised, some customers have speculated that AI might be concerned, since she, a PhD Candidate and Northwestern College, seems to have written a number of papers on AI instruments and literacy.Maalvika didn’t reply to our request for remark, however has since launched an announcement on Substack, explaining, “i like katie’s writing & saved it in my notes over a 12 months in the past, planning to write down one thing in an analogous spirit later. i ended up utilizing her actual phrases & phrasing which is totally unsuitable, and that i deeply, deeply apologize to anybody who feels harm by that. i completely perceive being livid at me, i’d be too.”(Picture credit score: Future)However whereas most of the complaints throughout Substack Notes have known as Maalvika out immediately, they’ve additionally famous the silence from Substack itself. Whereas content material theft is extremely widespread throughout social media, the monetary mannequin of Substack, which calls itself a “new financial engine for tradition”, adjustments the angle. With customers simply in a position to monetise their posts, and the Notes platform facilitating virality on the platform, somewhat than merely watching their stolen content material earn Likes for another person, creatives can watch in actual time because it earns that individual, and Substack, cash.Each day design information, opinions, how-tos and extra, as picked by the editors.Maalvika has gained over 31K subscribers, lots of of paid subscribers, and #1 New Bestseller standing (Picture credit score: Future)Substack’s personal pointers on coping with plagiarism are characteristically non-committal. “When your plagiarist is an enormous title or has an enormous platform, calling them out may be sufficient to resolve your drawback. You get the popularity you deserve; your plagiarist will get the scorn they’ve bought coming.” However the firm provides, “The web is huge, and it may be costly to implement your rights. “As AI generated content material turns into more and more tough to identify, the query of authenticity is extraordinarily prescient proper now. It is clear from Maalvika’s fast ascent to #1 New Bestseller standing that a considerable amount of folks have seen literal worth in her output. However it’s additionally clear from the heated response to these plagiarism accusations that, given the selection, most would somewhat give their money and time to the unique creator. Whereas there are many good writers on Substack (and one unbelievable one), maybe simply as necessary than high quality in 2025 is transparency.
