Wikipedia:Training/For students/Copyright and plagiarism
 | This Wikipedia page has been superseded by training content on dashboard.wikiedu.org and outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
Copyright and plagiarism
You might think you know what plagiarism is, and how to avoid it. But Wikipedia is a little bit different. The rules cover not only copy-and-paste plagiarism, but also close paraphrasing and copyright violations. And the stakes are high: the consequences of committing plagiarism in a Wikipedia class assignment are the same as handing in a paper you didn't write.
Whether direct copying or close paraphrasing, plagiarism and copyright violation are disruptive and time-consuming for volunteers to clean up. Except for brief quotations—which must be clearly disclosed as such through the use of quote marks (or by set off), and cited to the source of copying using an inline citation—copying content from copyrighted sources into Wikipedia is not only against Wikipedia policy but is illegal.
It can also result in real life implications for those involved, such as academic demotion or expulsion at some universities, and users editing under their real names may leave behind a permanent Internet record of their plagiarism and infringement.
This video lays out what you need to know to avoid these pitfalls! Make sure you watch it before you move on to the next slide.
