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23 Famous Examples of Plagiarism

23 Famous Examples of Plagiarism

This article explores 23 famous plagiarism cases across writing, politics, music, media, history, real life, and science. It also shows how to avoid mistakes using StudyAgent’s plagiarism tool.
Olena A.
Olena A.
Nov 25, 2025
Famous Examples of Plagiarism
Writing with AI
13 min read
Table of contents
Plagiarism reaches beyond classrooms and into the careers of published writers, journalists, scientists, politicians, performers, and more. Famous examples of plagiarism in real life, like Helen Keller’s Frost King, George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord dispute, and Dan Brown’s legal battles over The Da Vinci Code, all demonstrate how copied ideas can follow a person for years.
This article walks through major plagiarism accusations across literature, politics, journalism, music, history, and science. To help readers avoid similar problems, StudyAgent AI assistant offers a plagiarism checker that scans text for copied content, detects self plagiarism, and highlights risky similarities before you submit or publish anything.

Famous Plagiarism Examples in Writing

Plagiarism in writing happens when a writer uses someone else’s words, structure, or ideas without credit. It replaces original work with borrowed material and presents it as the writer’s own.
In the following sections, we’ll examine several well-known situations where authors faced questions about copied passages and uncredited material.
The following sections cover several notable plagiarism cases in writing:
  • Jane Goodall - Seeds of Hope
  • Quentin Rowan - Assassin of Secrets
  • Kaavya Viswanathan - How Opal Mehta Got Kissed…

Jane Goodall

Goodall’s book, Seeds of Hope, drew attention when reviewers noticed that several sections closely matched wording found on a range of websites and reference pages. The overlap wasn’t limited to a single source, which raised concerns about how the material had been gathered and edited. After the issue surfaced, the publisher updated the text, added proper citations, and released a corrected edition. Goodall acknowledged the mistakes and explained that parts of the manuscript had been prepared with outside help, which contributed to the oversight.

Quentin Rowan

Rowan’s plagiarism was discovered days after his spy novel Assassin of Secrets was published. Readers noticed that entire paragraphs matched passages from well-known thriller writers and earlier Cold War novels. The problem wasn’t a few lines. It was a large portion of the book, stitched together from multiple sources with minimal changes. Once confirmed, the publisher immediately recalled all copies and canceled further releases. Rowan later admitted to the copying and provided an account of long-term dependence on other authors’ prose.

Kaavya Viswanathan

Viswanathan’s case gained attention because so many passages in her novel How Opal Mehta Got Kissed… lined up with Megan McCafferty’s books. Some parallels were nearly word-for-word, others followed the same scene structure. When the patterns became impossible to ignore, the publisher withdrew the novel entirely. Viswanathan apologized, and the book stayed out of print, turning the case into one of the most talked-about examples in recent mainstream publishing.

Famous Plagiarism Examples in Politics

Plagiarism in politics usually appears in speeches, campaign statements, policy documents, autobiographies, and public essays. Since political communication is archived, recorded, and fact-checked, it can instantly be compared with older material.
Once the similarities are confirmed, the consequences move fast. Campaigns face questions about authorship, accountability, and judgment. Staff sometimes take responsibility, but the public usually directs the criticism toward the politician whose name appears on the speech or document.
In the following sections, you will learn more about the famous plagiarism examples in politics, including:
  • Melania Trump’s convention speech
  • Annalena Baerbock’s book controversy
  • Ursula von der Leyen’s dissertation case

Melania Trump

Melania Trump’s 2016 Republican National Convention speech quickly turned into one of the most talked-about plagiarism moments in recent U.S. politics. Viewers noticed that parts of her address sounded almost identical to Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic Convention speech. The matching lines focused on hard work, values, and keeping promises, and the wording lined up closely enough that the comparisons spread online within minutes.
A staff writer eventually stepped forward and said she had included those lines by mistake while helping shape an early draft. She offered to resign, though the campaign chose to keep her on. Melania Trump did not issue a detailed public explanation, but the team quietly adjusted its speechwriting process after the incident.

Annalena Baerbock

Annalena Baerbock’s campaign for the German Chancellery ran into trouble when questions surfaced about parts of her book Now. How We Renew Our Country. What started as a résumé controversy expanded when media researcher Stefan Weber published findings showing that several passages in the book closely matched text from other sources. The material appeared to come from newspapers, online publications, and even government educational resources, all reproduced without clear attribution.
The parallels were detailed and specific. Weber identified lines that mirrored reporting from Der Spiegel, the Tagesspiegel, and the Federal Agency for Civic Education. Baerbock later addressed the situation more directly. She acknowledged that a more structured reference list would have prevented the overlaps.

Ursula von der Leyen

Ursula von der Leyen’s academic past resurfaced unexpectedly while she was Germany’s defense minister. A law professor examined her 1990s medical dissertation and published a long online report claiming that several sections echoed earlier academic texts without proper attribution. He pointed to repeated wording, similar paragraph structures, and citations that didn’t fully separate her own writing from the sources she had used.
After months of analysis, Hannover Medical School concluded that the dissertation contained citation mistakes but did not show a clear intent to deceive. Her degree stayed in place, though the report highlighted a weakness in how the original work handled sourcing. Public debate eventually quieted, but the episode still follows discussions about plagiarism investigations involving senior political leaders.

Famous Examples of Plagiarism in Music

Plagiarism in music often appears when a new song repeats a recognizable melody, lyric line, or arrangement from an earlier track. Listeners notice these overlaps quickly, and comparisons spread fast. Some disputes involve only a short phrase, while others raise questions about entire sections of a song.
Accusations in this area usually lead to legal reviews, side-by-side analyses, and debates about what counts as influence versus uncredited copying. The famous cases of plagiarism below show how these issues surface and how the music industry handles them when they do:
  • Led Zeppelin - 'Stairway to Heaven'
  • The Verve - 'Bitter Sweet Symphony'
  • Lana Del Rey vs. Radiohead
  • Slipknot vs. Burger King
If you want to understand how to avoid plagiarism in your own work, StudyAgent’s guide can help you stay on the safe side.

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin spent years fighting claims that the opening guitar progression of 'Stairway to Heaven' was copied from 'Taurus' by the band Spirit. The accusation centered on a similar descending chord pattern. After multiple rounds in court and extensive musical analysis, the final ruling landed in Led Zeppelin’s favor. The court concluded that the shared elements were too common to be protected, ending one of the most closely watched music plagiarism disputes in recent history.

The Verve

The Verve’s 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' became a landmark case in music rights and sampling. The band had licensed a recording from an orchestral version of a Rolling Stones song, but the rights holder argued that the final track used more of the sample than the agreement allowed. The dispute ended with The Verve losing control of the song’s royalties for nearly two decades. The situation changed only years later when the Rolling Stones’ members agreed to return the rights, allowing the band to finally reclaim their most famous track.

Lana Del Rey vs. Radiohead

Lana Del Rey was accused of borrowing the chord progression and vocal movement from Radiohead’s 'Creep' in her song 'Get Free.' Del Rey said the band’s legal team requested songwriting credit, while Radiohead’s representatives stated they only wanted a proper review of the similarities. The discussion became public, and fans compared the two tracks closely. No final lawsuit went to trial, but the case highlighted how quickly questions about melody and structure can escalate when two popular songs share noticeable overlap.

Slipknot vs. Burger King

Slipknot found themselves in an unusual plagiarism controversy when Burger King launched an ad campaign featuring a fictional band called 'Coq Roq.' Slipknot argued that the group’s masks, outfits, and branding were too close to their own image. Burger King countered that Slipknot did not own the idea of masked performers. The dispute played out publicly but ended without a major legal battle. It remains one of the more unusual cases where the debate focused less on melodies or lyrics and more on visual identity and artistic style.

Famous Plagiarism Examples in Journalism and Media

Journalism is subject to a unique level of public scrutiny. Every article is tracked, archived, and read by people who notice when something feels off. When a reporter reuses sentences from another publication or blends someone else’s language into their own work, the issue surfaces quickly. These incidents often spark broader conversations about sourcing, accuracy, and even self-plagiarism, which is a recurring issue in long-form and opinion writing.
Cases covered in this section:
  • Johann Hari
  • Stephen Glass
  • Jayson Blair
  • Katie Roiphe

Johann Hari

Johann Hari built a reputation as a high-profile interviewer until readers noticed that several of his articles included quotes that the subjects had given to other journalists in earlier conversations. The issue wasn’t mishearing or paraphrasing. Hari had used polished lines from past interviews and placed them into his own features as if they were said to him directly.
The concerns grew when people compared paragraphs across publications and found additional overlaps. Hari apologized, returned a major journalism prize, and stepped back from the profession for several years. The case remains a regular example of how attribution gaps can damage long-form reporting.

Stephen Glass

Stephen Glass became one of the most infamous examples of newsroom misconduct after editors discovered that many of his stories contained invented people, fabricated events, and passages lifted from other outlets. Fact-checkers tried to verify details and found that key parts of the reporting didn’t exist at all.
The magazine retracted a large portion of his work, and Glass’s journalism career ended immediately. His case is still taught in journalism programs because it shows how plagiarism and fabrication can build up quietly and collapse an entire portfolio at once.

Jayson Blair

Blair resigned after the Times revealed that many of his articles contained fabricated details and passages taken from other news outlets without attribution. The investigation showed a pattern that stretched across months of reporting, including invented scenes, false quotations, and misleading sourcing. Editors later described how internal warnings were missed, turning the situation into one of journalism’s most public ethics failures and a case study in how newsroom oversight can break down.

Katie Roiphe

Another famous case of plagiarism occurred when Katie Roiphe faced criticism from readers who pointed out that sections of one of her essays closely followed the structure and language of earlier scholarly work. The overlap didn’t result in a formal retraction, but it raised questions about how essays that draw heavily on academic research should cite their sources.
The discussion focused on attribution standards rather than intent, but the case still appears in conversations about sourcing practices for cultural commentary and opinion writing.

Famous Examples of Plagiarism in History

Historical writing tends to attract close attention because every claim, citation, and interpretation rests on records that anyone can check. When a historian reuses another writer’s language or borrows a narrative without making the source clear, the issue doesn’t fade. It resurfaces whenever the work is studied or reprinted.
The cases below show how plagiarism appears in major historical works and how those discoveries shaped each historian’s reputation. In the following sections, we’ll cover these famous cases of plagiarism throughout history:
  • Doris Kearns Goodwin - The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys
  • Stephen Ambrose - Multiple Historical Works
  • Niall Ferguson - Civilization and Other Works

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Doris Kearns Goodwin faced questions about her sourcing after reviewers found that parts of The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys matched passages from earlier biographies. The similarities involved phrasing and narrative structure that were too close to ignore.
Goodwin acknowledged the problems, reached a private agreement with one of the affected authors, and corrected the text in later editions. She stepped back from some public commentary for a time, though her work remained widely read. The case became a reference point for how even established historians can run into trouble when citation practices slip.

Stephen Ambrose

Stephen Ambrose drew scrutiny when researchers discovered that several of his books included lines and paragraphs that followed other scholars’ work almost word for word. Footnotes existed, but the language itself stayed too close to the originals.
The findings led to a broader discussion about how popular history is produced and the speed at which high-demand authors write. Ambrose’s reputation suffered, and additional overlaps were identified later, though his books continued to circulate widely. His case is still used to explain where citation ends and copying begins.

Niall Ferguson

Niall Ferguson was criticized after readers noticed that some sections of Civilization and earlier essays leaned too heavily on existing research. The issues involved passages that tracked another writer’s structure or wording without a clear signal to the reader.
Ferguson rejected claims of intentional plagiarism but accepted that certain parts of the book needed stronger attribution. Publishers adjusted later printings, and the incident added to ongoing conversations about the pressure to synthesize large amounts of material quickly. His case shows how sourcing concerns can follow historians across multiple projects.

Famous Examples of Plagiarism in Real Life

Plagiarism has become easier to spot in the age of screenshots, viral posts, and side-by-side comparisons. When public figures release books, creative projects, or online statements, the audience often notices similarities long before a formal review begins. These cases involving well known people show how plagiarism appears in today’s celebrity culture and how quickly the conversation moves once the overlap is found.
Famous plagiarism cases and consequences covered in this section:
  • Shia LaBeouf - Short Film Controversy
  • Beyoncé – “Countdown” Music Video Dispute
  • Rupi Kaur - Style and Line Similarity Accusations
If you want a clearer sense of how plagiarism works and what the most common issues look like, see plagiarism FAQs by StudyAgent.

Shia LaBeouf

Shia LaBeouf faced intense criticism after his short film HowardCantour.com turned out to match dialogue and scenes from Daniel Clowes’s comic almost line for line. The film was released without credit, and viewers compared the two works within hours.
LaBeouf apologized, but that apology drew even more attention because parts of it were copied from other public statements. The situation became a clear example of how fast plagiarism spreads when creative work is shared online.

Beyoncé

Parts of the Countdown video strongly resembled choreography from Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. While Beyoncé acknowledged the influence, critics noted that the similarity crossed into direct imitation without clear credit. The conversation grew louder when side-by-side comparisons showed nearly identical movements, staging choices, and even costume cues. De Keersmaeker herself commented that she had never been contacted about the use of her work, which pushed the discussion into ethical territory rather than simple artistic inspiration.
The case became a widely cited example of how celebrity productions can spark plagiarism debates when recognizable creative material reappears without transparent attribution.

Rupi Kaur

Rupi Kaur’s minimalist poetry style led to recurring comparisons with earlier internet poets whose work appeared on forums and early social platforms. Some writers argued that her phrasing and structure felt too close to their own posts, especially from the early 2010s.
Kaur denied using anyone else’s lines and explained that short, image-driven poems often overlap in form. The debate continues in online writing communities, showing how style, format, and originality often collide in the world of digital poetry.

Famous Examples of Plagiarism in Science and Research

Plagiarism in scientific work can be especially damaging because research depends on precision, documentation, and trust. When a paper includes copied text, reused descriptions, or unclear sourcing, the issue affects more than the publication itself. It raises questions about the reliability of the research and the standards behind it.
The cases below show how plagiarism has appeared in major research environments and how those findings shaped each scientist’s career.
Cases covered in this section:
  • Haruko Obokata - STAP Cell Papers
  • Viswa Jit Gupta - Geological Papers and Questionable Specimens
  • Neri Oxman - MIT Dissertation Review (2024)

Haruko Obokata

Haruko Obokata’s work on STAP cells generated enormous excitement when it appeared in Nature, promising a new and simple way to create stem cells. That momentum collapsed when other scientists noticed reused wording, duplicated images, and methodological details that didn’t line up with standard lab practices.
A formal investigation confirmed that parts of the text came from earlier studies and that the core results couldn’t be reproduced. Both papers were retracted, and Obokata stepped down from her research position. The case is still used as a clear example of how citation problems and inconsistent documentation can unravel a major scientific claim.

Viswa Jit Gupta

Concerns about Viswa Jit Gupta’s work appeared gradually, as researchers noticed that some of his fossil descriptions looked almost identical to earlier geological publications. Over time, investigations found repeated use of copied text and raised doubts about the authenticity of several specimens included in his research.
Multiple journals withdrew his papers, and institutions reviewing his work found a pattern that mixed plagiarism with possible data misrepresentation. Gupta’s case remains widely discussed because it involved both textual overlap and questions about the integrity of the evidence behind his findings.

Neri Oxman

Neri Oxman came under scrutiny in 2024 when reporters identified sections of her 2010 MIT dissertation that closely matched existing academic sources without full quotation or attribution. Oxman acknowledged citation problems, apologized publicly, and said she supported updating the work to reflect proper credit. The case sparked a broader conversation about how older dissertations are evaluated once an author becomes a public figure.

Double-Check Your Writing With StudyAgent’s Plagiarism Tool

All of the cases you’ve seen in this article show that even small lapses can turn into serious public problems. These seemingly minor errors happen easily, even to experienced writers, which is why it helps to review your work before you upload, submit, or publish anything.
StudyAgent online plagiarism checker
StudyAgent online plagiarism checker makes that step simple. It scans your text for copied or closely paraphrased phrases, shows which parts aren’t unique, and points to the sources your writing may resemble. The tool looks at your content through several lenses, including lexical frequency, word choice, phrase patterns, and contextual meaning. It supports over 150 languages and checks your work against large databases and online materials to give you a clear picture of what needs fixing.

Final Words

Plagiarism shows up in far more places than most people expect. It appears in books, journalism, politics, science, and even in everyday creative work online. Some cases involved clear copying, others were the result of rushed drafting or poor record-keeping, but the pattern is the same: when sources aren’t documented properly, the consequences follow for years.
This is why checking your work before you submit or publish matters. StudyAgent’s plagiarism checker helps with that step by reviewing your writing, flagging unclear phrasing, scanning for non-original passages, and giving you the chance to fix problems early.
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Frequently asked questions

The most common form is copying wording from a source without giving credit. It also appears often in paraphrasing that stays too close to the original sentence structure.
Reviews of his doctoral dissertation found that some sections used earlier theological scholarship without full citation. The findings did not affect the degree but remain part of the historical record.
Many public figures have faced accusations, but one of the most widely discussed is Dan Brown, whose work on The Da Vinci Code led to a legal dispute over research similarities. In politics, the former U.S. President, Joe Biden, also faced plagiarism accusations involving a misattributed law school paper.
Jayson Blair of The New York Times is one of the most cited examples. His reporting contained both fabricated material and copied passages from other newspapers.
John Fogerty is the best-known case. He was sued by the publisher of one of his earlier songs, “Run Through the Jungle,” who claimed that his later track “The Old Man Down the Road” sounded too similar.
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