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Almost 2 years ago, on July 31, 2015, I wrote a prose piece on suicide, titled “The Morning After I Killed Myself.” I posted it on my personal writing blog. The piece spoke from the perspective of a young woman looking back at her life after committing suicide, observing the effects it had on her peers. Within only a few weeks, my piece had been shared over 300,000 times directly on the blogging site, and as of today, it has been shared over 7 million documented times across the Internet.
Unfortunately, ever since I posted it, I have also come across at least 150 cases of it it being plagiarized. 150. And certainly countless more, considering these are only the cases I have been able to find myself. I have lost count of how many times I’ve had to contact websites to ask them to remove the plagiarized versions, how many times I’ve had to file DMCA notices, how many times I’ve had to enlist the support of my readers to bring awareness of the plagiarism to the attention of host sites. I have sent countless emails, filed countless notices, sent in countless reports, etc. On and on.
I’ve had people steal my piece for English class projects, for art projects, get it published on well-known websites under their own names; I even had one girl steal the piece and submit it to the same national art and writing contest I won national medals for when I was in high school. I’ve had people steal my piece and copy its lines and twist its lines and meaning into a highly manipulative and distressing version that blames suicidal individuals for their thoughts and actions, leaving me in distress and sadness at my original message being distorted to such a degree, especially as someone who has personally struggled with suicide. It’s gotten to the point where on one single well-known website alone, The Odyssey, there have been at least 5 different plagiarized versions of my piece published at any given time, with new versions appearing each week.
I remember clearly when one girl used a plagiarized version of my piece for a final art project for her class. This girl was innocent; she had no idea she was using a plagiarized version of my work. I clearly remember her begging me to call her on the phone, a complete stranger, so she could explain, and listening to her break down in tears as she apologized profusely for using a stolen version of my piece when she was not at fault whatsoever.
It is unacceptable, damaging, and devastating to an author when their work is plagiarized, especially to the extent that my piece has been. It is unfair. It is hurtful, it is disappointing, it is inappropriate, and most of all, it belittles the time, effort, and dedication the author put into the work. We need to support and uplift the artists and writers we have left instead of destroying them.
Just yesterday I was contacted by several different individuals telling me that a plagiarized version of my piece is making the rounds on the Internet again. I cannot go a single week each month without being informed of more plagiarism of this one piece that I wrote almost 2 years ago.
Please. If you see plagiarized work floating around, whether it is mine or anyone else’s, report it. Comment on it. File a notice. Speak out about it.
Artists and writers do not exist in a vacuum. They have human feelings; they are human beings. They feel hurt and pain and frustration when you take credit for their ideas and their words and art. Plagiarism takes an enormous toll. It is no exaggeration to say that over the past 2 years that my piece has been stolen, my mental health has taken a hit due to something I spent a great deal of time on being taken away from me over and over and over again.
Please share this, if you have the time. Not for me. But for all the artists and writers whose brilliant and emboldening work you have the privilege, not just the opportunity, but the privilege, to observe, learn from, and immerse yourself in every minute of every day.
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