There’s one thing you should never do if you’re a journalist or content writer in the Philippines: copy-pasting or plagiarism.
We highlight the Philippines because of a peculiar trend in the West that seemingly pardons and overlooks plagiarism cases involving prominent liberals and democrats.
For instance, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria and Harvard University president Claudine Gay were embroiled in plagiarism scandals, yet their employers turned a blind eye.
However, CNN and Time were compelled to suspend Zakaria when his dishonesty and theft gained global attention.
Yet the most notorious example we can provide is none other than Democratic US President Joe Biden, who has been caught multiple times committing plagiarism in both written works and speeches. Despite being a repeat offender, Biden has yet to receive condemnation from his party, America’s liberal media, and his supporters.
In the Philippines, it’s a different story.
Filipino news outlets, academic institutions, and similar organizations, including Rappler led by American liberal Maria Ressa, still view plagiarism with disdain, deserving swift punishment.
Rappler has recently disclosed on Facebook that it “has taken down more than one article published under the byline of researcher-writer Jezreel Ines.”
The post received over 1,700 reactions and 200 comments.
The outlet admitted, “Our internal investigation found considerable parts of those articles plagiarized academic research or journalistic work published elsewhere.”
These articles lacked proper citations and exhibited strong structural resemblances to previously published materials, violating professional and ethical standards.
Rappler expressed regret and issued an apology to the original authors and readers for the editorial mishap.
They promised corrective actions without specifying the measures taken against Ines, who remains listed on the website as a researcher-writer primarily focused on governance and social issues.
The outlet also didn’t specify the stories taken down or reveal who reported the plagiarism.
Ines, the alleged plagiarist, holds a journalism degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman and previously served as a news writer for its college publication, Tinig ng Plaridel.
His LinkedIn profile boasts of being the former vice chairperson for Information and Research at UP, a state-funded educational institution in the country.
Ironically, his profile lists abilities such as fact-checking, proofreading, teaching, and leadership, raising questions about how plagiarism occurred.
Ines’s social media, particularly his X account (formerly Twitter) with over 1,100 followers, remains silent on the issue.
His latest article, published on December 29, bears his name, but as of now, Ines hasn’t addressed the issue via his social media accounts.
The Daily Netizen 
[…] the aftermath of Rappler’s public apology for the plagiarism committed by its staff member, Jezreel Ines, a medical professional from Hawaii, […]
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