[Update: some of the links that were cited below are now dead and so I have removed them]
Melissa Whitworth explains what happened here. It seems that her editors at the Telegraph made an error.
You may recall my post on Friday about the dire fate faced by traditional newspapers, and the pressure they’re coming under to be more like the internet.
Copyblogger noticed that the Daily Telegraph (founded 1855) seems to have taken this advice directly to heart by ripping off this blog post by Claire Zulkey and representing it as the work of New York features contributor Melissa Whitworth.
As Brian Clark comments, the attempt seems particularly inept. The article retained the original reference to his own article that allowed him to rumble the caper when traffic started to arrive from the Telegraph.
The Telegraph’s blogs page has now withdrawn the post without explanation. But not before the offending piece was cached.
There’s a funny response to the story here at the Blog Herald.
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There’s a difference between giving someone the benefit of the doubt, and taking it hook line and sinker.
Brian,
There *may* be some malpractice afoot here. The likelihood is that we will never know the entire truth.
There’s also a difference between scepticism and cynicism, on the other hand.
Ian