In the past 24 hours, we learned of allegations that Ben Domenech plagiarized material that appeared under his byline in various publications prior to washingtonpost.com contracting with him to write a blog that launched Tuesday.
An investigation into these allegations was ongoing, and in the interim, Domenech has resigned, effective immediately.
When we hired Domenech, we were not aware of any allegations that he had plagiarized any of his past writings. In any cases where allegations such as these are made, we will continue to investigate those charges thoroughly in order to maintain our journalistic integrity.
Plagiarism is perhaps the most serious offense that a writer can commit or be accused of. Washingtonpost.com will do everything in its power to verify that its news and opinion content is sourced completely and accurately at all times.
We appreciate the speed and thoroughness with which our readers and media outlets surfaced these allegations. Despite the turn this has taken, we believe this event, among other things, testifies to the positive and powerful role that the Internet can play in the the practice of journalism.
We also remain committed to representing a broad spectrum of ideas and ideologies in our Opinions area.
Jim Brady Executive Editor, washingtonpost.com
I do sort of agree with one thing Brady writes, it does show the positive that the Internet can play in the practice of journalism, but only to the point that plagiarists are outed for their intellectual thievery. The Red America blog offered no chance for critics to really challenge the slanted facts laid out by it, and it would have been allowed to continue to present slanted facts if the Post had hired somebody who published their own thoughts.
I would like one further explanation from Brady. Why was this post was scrubbed from the blog?
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