Elementary school students are taught about plagiarism from a young age, typically around six or seven years old. At this stage, their teachers emphasize the importance of original work and explain that copying sentences or paragraphs from books or online sources without permission, proper citations, or crediting the original authors is considered unethical.
Copying text word-for-word is strictly forbidden in academic settings, and can result in severe penalties, including failing grades and even expulsion from college. Despite the widespread emphasis on originality in American classrooms, from elementary school to college, plagiarism remains a pervasive issue online. This raises a puzzling question: why does this behavior persist on the internet, despite the clear consequences and emphasis on proper citation in educational settings?
Plagiarism may seem like a quick fix, taking mere seconds to copy and paste information from one website to another. Its simplicity can be tempting, making it easier to opt for copying over creating original content. However, it’s essential to remember that plagiarism is a form of intellectual theft, and its consequences can be severe, even if they’re not immediately apparent. In the long run, plagiarism can damage your reputation, credibility, and even lead to legal issues, making it a risk not worth taking.
How Can Plagiarism Have a Negative Effect on Your Website and Your Business?
Search engines know what’s going on. These days, it is practically impossible to fool a search engine into thinking plagiarized copy on your website is original. In fact, plagiarized content, which is commonly referred to as “duplicate” or “recycled” content, can be detected easily. The website that is first to publish unique content gets credited as the original author. Any other website that publishes plagiarized or duplicate content is automatically penalized. This type of penalty can affect your search engine rankings.
Your Customers or Followers Will Lose Trust in You
If you publish great articles on your website that are filled with seemingly unique ideas, advice, and information, your website visitors will trust you and rely on you for insight and guidance. They will depend on you as an authority and as a leader in your industry. But if your website visitors discover that identical information also exists on another website – and that website is the originator of the text – your fans will lose confidence in you and your company.
You Might Get in Big Trouble
It’s highly possible that if a company finds out you “borrowed” content or articles from their website without asking permission, they might sue you. But even if you are not caught, your website might still suffer consequences via decreased page ranking.
Remember… It’s Not OK to Do It Just Because Others are Doing It
If your friend asked you to jump off a cliff, would you do it? Probably not. Basically, if you think something is a bad idea, stay away from it. Why risk jeopardizing your reputation, credibility, and authority? Just Say No! If you and/or your employees don’t have time to write original content for your website, it’s time to think about hiring someone to help you.
Keep these philosophies in mind:
- Plagiarism should be avoided like the plague!
- Cheaters never prosper!
- Don’t take shortcuts!
Websynario will assist you with all of your content creation needs.
Call us today! We are here to help!