Kamala Harris accused of plagiarizing content for her book
United States Vice President Kamala Harris is facing allegations of plagiarism in her criminal justice book, Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor's Plan to Make Us Safer. The accusations were highlighted by journalist Christopher Rufo, who alleges that Harris copied content from various sources without proper attribution. These sources reportedly include Wikipedia, wires, press releases, and reports.
Investigation reveals multiple instances of alleged plagiarism
Rufo's investigation also included Stefan Weber, a famous "plagiarism hunter" who has exposed similar infractions by politicians in the German-speaking world. Weber reportedly discovered more than a dozen "vicious plagiarism fragments" in Harris's book. One particularly egregious example includes a section that seems to have been lifted verbatim from a press release issued by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice without any credit or citation.
Harris accused of copying from NBC News, Wikipedia
Harris is also accused of plagiarizing a report from NBC News on high school graduation rates without giving proper attribution. Rufo wrote, "They not only lifted material from sources without proper attribution, but in at least one case, relied on a low-quality source." Further, when writing Smart on Crime in 2008, Harris allegedly copied language from a Wikipedia article almost word for word.
Plagiarism allegations spark reactions from political opponents
The plagiarism allegations against Harris have swiftly sparked reactions from political opponents. Former President Donald Trump's campaign and running mate, Senator JD Vance, jumped on the news to slam Harris. Vance tweeted, "Lmao Kamala didn't even write her own book!" Donald Trump Jr also joined in with a tweet saying, "Yikes! More evidence that Kamala Harris is a fraud!!!"
