Flunking Ethics: Cincinnati Enquirer's 'Do The Right Thing' Supplement Seems Swiped From Symantec

Plagiarize stuff from the Internet. You might not be caught. That could end up being the unintended lesson from a four-page special advertising supplement printed in today's Cincinnati Enquirer. It was meant to offer character-building guidance to thousands of schoolchildren, along with a heavy dose of "Cyber Ethics DOs and DON'T's." But OhioDaily noticed that the Cyber Ethics were taken directly from material originally published online by Symantec, the computer security firm, in February 2007. You can read the entire Symantec piece here. A quick Google search turns up versions that are all over the Internet. The Enquirer supplment is not yet online.

But here's an example from today's (Dec. 2, 2009) Cincinnati Enquirer, a newspaper owned by Gannett Co. Inc., the nation's largest publishing chain: "Don't use the Internet to download or share copyrighted material. When something is copyrighted, it means that someone else owns it, and you cannot copy or distribute it without their permission."

And here's Symantec (34 months earlier): "Don't use the Internet to download or share copyrighted material. When something is copyrighted, it means that someone else owns it, and you cannot copy or distribute it without their permission."

Coincidence? Possibly. But what explains this:

Cincinnati Enquirer -- "What is cyber ethics? Simply put, cyber ethics is a code of behavior for using the Internet. One easy way to think about cyber ethics is this: acceptable behavior online is very much the same as acceptable behavior everywhere. For instance, at an early age, we learn what it means to be honest, and we learn to respect the rights and property of others. We are taught to not take what does not belong to us, and to be considerate of others. On the Internet, the same basic rules apply."

Symantec (34 months earlier) -- What is cyber ethics? And how do you teach it to your children? Simply put, cyber ethics is a code of behavior for using the Internet. One easy way to think about cyber ethics and to address the subject with children is this: accepta ble behavior on the Internet is very much the same as acceptable behavior in everyday life. For instance, at an early age children learn what it means to be honest, and to respect the rights and property of others. They are taught to not take what does not belong to them, and to be considerate of others. On the Internet, the same basic rules apply.

The cyber ethics guidance published by the Cincinnati Enquirer, and there is quite a bit more than appears here, does not credit Symantec nor anyone else as the source. Any kid who filches stuff from the Internet and slips it into a school paper faces receiving an "F" and being branded a plagiarist. The ad supplement was sponsored by GEARUP Scores!, a federal program that is supposed to held low-income kids make it through college. Its local backers include the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati State Community College, the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, the Reds and Bengals, Parents for Public Schools and the Cincinnati Enquirer. The message was intended to convey character-building. It may have been a display of Internet flim-flammery.