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Bloomberg brutally reminded of his own ‘policy against plagiarism’ after damning accusations emerge

February 7, 2020 | | Print Article

Michael Bloomberg may own his own news agency but his presidential campaign reportedly had to amend some policy proposals after allegations that they were plagiarized.

A new report found that in at least eight policy plans and fact sheets touted by the billionaire’s campaign, the language appeared similar to that used in news articles and research centers.

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

The campaign removed and reposted an updated infrastructure plan as well as editing some other fact sheets on Thursday after The Intercept questioned the passages. The outlet noted that Bloomberg’s plans on the economy, taxes, LGBTQ equality, infrastructure as well as mental and maternal health were “direct copies of material from media outlets including CNN, Time, and CBS” and others.

Portions ranging from fragments up to paragraph-sized passages, between five and 174 pages long, were found in the documents, according to the report, which noted that the former New York City mayor’s campaign did not deny the plagiarism.

“Much of what you flagged were fact sheets that went out via MailChimp, which doesn’t support footnote formatting,” Bloomberg’s campaign told The Intercept after its query Wednesday, referring to an online newsletter service.

“When we announce policy platforms, we put together detailed fact sheets with context and supporting background, so that reporters understand the problem we’re trying to solve with our policy. For sourcing, we often look to the organizations that Mike has led or worked with in the past, like the City of New York and Building America’s Future,” the statement explained. “We have since added citations and links to these documents.”

The report, by The Intercept’s Akela Lacy, went on to feature side-by-side comparisons of the Bloomberg excerpts and similar passages, highlighting the relevant text.

She also noted the stand against plagiarism held by Bloomberg’s media entity, Bloomberg News:

“Michael Bloomberg pays the salaries of many journalists, as the founder, president, and CEO of his eponymous media empire company,” New York Magazine’s Sarah Jones wrote. “When he decided to run for president, he hired some of those journalists to work for his campaign. Tragically, he does not appear to have internalized one of the central precepts of the profession he patronizes: You can’t steal other people’s work.”

The criticism came as a new video surfaced from 2013 showing then-Mayor Bloomberg honoring now-disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who thanked him for his support while making sexually related jokes.

Bloomberg’s campaign apparently was not only dealing with a failure to develop its own literature this week, but also with an apparent inability to meme.

Team Bloomberg’s attempt to troll President Trump backfired “bigly” as the campaign for the 2020 hopeful the president has dubbed “mini Mike” proved that “the left can’t meme.”

Twitter users who could not un-see the terrible meme registered their disapproval.

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Frieda Powers
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