“Be careful what you post online,” ang madalas na paalala pagdating sa social media.
Ito marahil ang mahalagang lesson na natutunan ng isang dalagang TikToker at social-media influencer, na inakusahan ng plagiarism o pangongopya o pag-angkin ng literary work ng iba nang walang tamang attribution sa may-akda.
Nabisto si Brooke Lim, 19, isang Singaporean, na nakilala dahil sa kanyang online tutorial sa TikTok kung paano magsulat ng essay.
Nadiskubreng nag-plagiarize ang dalagita sa inilabas niyang blog post—bagay na inamin niya.
Si Brooke, na may TikTok account na @sugaresque, ay mayroong higit 183,000 followers at kabuuang 9.6 million likes sa TikTok.
Siya rin ay head ng isang tuition agency na Classicle Club, na kumita ng six figures noong 2022, ayon sa Singaporean national paper na The Straits Times.
Ang tuition agency ay nagsisilbing mediator para sa mga magulang ng bata at tutors online. May cut ang tuition agency mula sa bayad sa tutor.
Bukod sa maganda at articulate, knowledgeable si Brooke pagdating sa social media kaya mabilis nakakuha ng maraming followers.
Read also: Magna cum laude from CamSur draws flak for plagiarizing valedictory address
PLAGIARIZED BOOKS AND ARTICLES
Ironically, ang ginawang plagiarism ni Brooke ay ibinisto rin via social media.
Ulat ng The Straits Times, isang TikTok account (@sugaresqueessay) ang nag-post ng Google document.
Tinalakay sa document—na nasa video format—ang long-form essay ni Brooke na may titulong “On Being Afraid of Eating," na ipinost ng dalaga sa kanyang blog at Telegram channel noong April 18, 2023.
Ayon sa document, “over 70 per cent of the original essay is not her original work.”
Inisa-isa sa video ang pagkumpara sa long-form essay ni Brooke at ang mga pinagkopyahan niyang mga libro at articles.
Ayon sa source ng video, higit sila sa isa na may eating disorders kaya binasa nila ang essay ni Brooke, at doon nila napansing plagiarized ang essay ng dalaga.
Nagpadala umano sila ng anonymous letter kay Brooke, subalit hindi umano sila sinagot, at tinanggal pa ng dalaga ang parteng plagiarized sa kanyang ipinost na essay.
BROOKE’S APOLOGY
Kasunod nito, nag-post ng isang TikTok video si Brooke kung saan umamin siyang nag-plagiarize at humingi ng sorry.
“I made the very serious and regrettable mistake of plagiarizing. And for that I am so sorry. I am so sorry to my students,” hayag ni Brooke.
Isa-isa umano siyang nag-reach out sa kanyang mga estudyante para mag-sorry.
“And to the authors after books from which I have plagiarized, I really should have just given due credit and explained that these were words that resonated very deeply with me.
“I should have been more careful throughout the process of crafting the essay, instead of just reaching into my past compilation of thoughts and insights that I had lifted from other authors.
“I should have done my due diligence,and I will be more careful in the future.
“I just want to reassure everyone, that particular long-form essay was not for profit, not monetized in any way.
“It was not hidden behind a paywall. There were no ads linked to that website. It was not commissioned by a news or media agency. It was not for a college admissions essay. It was not for any academic assignment whatsoever.”
Samantala, may ginawang petisyon via Change.org, isang online petition platform, na nananawagan sa University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) na i-review ang admissions essay ni Brooke for plagiarism.
Mayroon na itong tinatayang 750 signatures.
Sabi naman ni Brooke sa Insider.com, aware siya at nauunawaan ang tungkol sa inumpisahang petisyon laban sa kanya.
"I would like to clarify that as of time of writing, I have not committed to UCLA, and am not an UCLA student. I trust that the school will do its due diligence, and I would be open to clarifying my stance directly should the need arise."