Plagiarism is rampant in the online publishing and marketing world. Other issues include copyright infringement which can involve legal action. These issues have several consequences and can ruin your company or brand’s image.
Writers can plagiarize intentionally or unintentionally. In deliberate plagiarism, writers paraphrase or rewrite the same sentences to make it seem like their own. Unintentionally, writers may miss out on referencing the source of their information or research.
Either way, it is not acceptable and companies must enforce policies and take strict action when it comes to plagiarized content.
Given below are a few tips for detecting plagiarism.
Have A Thorough Review Procedure
If you are a publisher or a head editor who is responsible for publishing articles, make sure you have a proper review process for plagiarism.
This can involve the steps to be taken to detect if an article is plagiarized or not. Make sure all the editors and marketers who work under you are aware of the review process and use it to evaluate the written articles.
They should be encouraged to double-check the articles and use verified plagiarism checks and detection tools.
The review process should also mention the percentage of plagiarism which is accepted. For example, 5-20% of plagiarism is allowed in many publishing websites.
In some higher institutions, there are rules which forbid anything above 20%.
Run Google Searches
If you suspect a plagiarized piece, conduct a google check on any section of the article. You can type in a specific statement or phrase which might seem borrowed from another piece. If it is, google will show you the source.
Many people don’t know that Google has a built-in plagiarism detection feature which can be used to analyze articles. For example, it can find out which piece is original and which one is not.
Plagiarism Checkers
With the sea of plagiarism checkers available today, it is important to choose a reliable one which is suitable for your needs.
Plagiarism checkers can differ from each other in how they present their reports. Some checkers provide only a comprehensive report without citing the plagiarized sources. Others will provide you with a full detailed report with all the listed sources.
Consider the following factors before choosing a plagiarism tool.
- Cost: Free plagiarism checkers usually offer limited features although some offer a good report. If you want to access all the benefits of a plagiarism checker including advanced ones like grammar checks and score, invest in a paid one.
- Accessibility: Make sure the plagiarism tool you use is easy to access and use. If it is too complicated, it will make your job difficult.
- Features: Go through the features the plagiarism tool offers. Check if it fulfills your requirements and if it offers advanced detection. It is always recommended to pick a checker which offers advanced detection.
At originality.ai you can detect plagiarized content including ones which are written using AI tools. Their AI model is trained to detect even GPT-3 written content.
They have an option for integrating AI detection in your company’s content creation tool. You can go to https://originality.ai/text-compare/ to check out their affordable pricing plans and detection features.
Educate Your Team
It is important to educate your team about plagiarism and how serious it can be for your brand or company.
Your writers or marketers might not know the consequences and how copied content can ruin your image and reputation.
Conduct sessions or host training classes for your writers. This can include information on how to use reference sources without copying their content, how to check the authenticity of sources and how to write original content which is optimized for SEO.
Talk about how writers should avoid common activities like paraphrasing and rewriting which lower content quality.
You should also teach them the right way to cite information sources and incorporate ideas from other content into your own work.
Make sure every year these sessions are conducted for new employees as well.
Investing in plagiarism training will equip your writers and help your brand as well.
Conclusion
Enforcing strict plagiarism policies and using quality plagiarism checkers are the only ways you can keep plagiarism out of your company or brand.
Writers should be constantly encouraged to come up with innovative content and give their unique perspective on the subject.