Jill Abramson Promises to Review New Book After Plagiarism Accusations

Jill Abramson responded late Wednesday evening to accusations of plagiarism in her new book “Merchants of Truth,” telling followers on Twitter that people within Vice were just unhappy about her “balanced” portrayal of the company, but that she would review the passages flagged.

“The attacks on my book from some @vicenews reflect their unhappiness with what I consider a balanced portrayal,” the former New York Times executive editor said. “I endeavored to accurately and properly give attribution to the hundreds of sources that were part of my research. I take seriously the issues raised and will review the passages in question.”

Just hours earlier, Vice News Tonight correspondent Michael Moynihan posted a lengthy thread citing specific examples where he said Abramson had lifted, with only moderate edits, whole paragraphs from other articles and even a thesis paper about the company.

Also Read: Vice Media Near Deal for New Show With Hulu, Executive Says (Exclusive)

“‘All three* chapters on Vice were clotted with mistakes. Lots of them. The truth promised in Merchants of Truth was often not true,” Moynihan said before laying it all out in this Twitter thread. “While trying to corroborate certain claims, I noticed that it also contained…plagiarized passages.”

Moynihan is no stranger to the plagiarism beat, famously busting New Yorker writer Jonah Lehrer for fabricating whole quotations which were then falsely attributed to Bob Dylan in Lehrer’s book “Imagine: How Creativity Works.” Lehrer’s books were later recalled, and his career has never fully recovered.

Reps for Vice did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap. Abramson did not respond to multiple requests for comment Wednesday and Thursday, though she appeared on Fox News Wednesday evening roughly an hour after the story broke, denying the charges to anchor Martha MacCallum.

Also Read: Vice Media Near Deal for New Show With Hulu, Executive Says (Exclusive)

“I certainly didn’t plagiarize in my book,” she said — before going onto admit that she had not read the specific allegations made. Before the Moynihan accusation, the book had already been marred by widely circulated factual errors about Vice.

The latest disclosures likely mark the end of what has been a largely sympathetic media tour for Abramson, as questions about the integrity of her book continue to mount.

“Merchants of Truth” hit bookstores nationwide on Tuesday.

11 Media Losers of 2018, From Les Moonves to Michael Avenatti (Photos)

2018 was hard for a lot of media folks, but particularly so for this rogues' gallery. For some, it was MeToo. For others, industry headwinds were too much. And for more still, disgrace and ignominy came after just saying the wrong thing.
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Les Moonves: Once celebrated for his leadership at CBS, Moonves faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct for which he was ultimately fired. CBS said in December that it would seek to deny him a roughly $120-million severance package.
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Laura Ingraham: Long a divisive figure (even on the right), the Fox News host might have avoided the losers' column were it not for a sponsor boycott launched against her by Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg in March. Months later, advertisers are still wary of appearing on the program.

Also Read: Laura Ingraham Compares Confederate Statue Protesters to ISIS
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Michael Ferro/Tronc: The leadership of Michael Ferro has now made Tronc synonymous with mismanagement. In addition to leaving the top job with a #MeToo scandal over his head, Ferro is now facing accusations of making anti-semitic remarks and paying off an LA Times editor who reportedly had the comments on tape.
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Media Publishers: From Mic.com on the left to The Weekly Standard on the right, publishers came in for a beating, with some closing up entirely. With few exceptions, legacy shops saw print sales decline, while digital-first properties continue to face the crushing economics of turning pageviews into profits.
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Breitbart: It's a name you probably haven't heard for a while. Once a key part of the engine which powered Trump's improbable election, the website had long fallen off most radars. A sustained pressure campaign against advertisers on the site by Sleeping Giants has also taken a bite out of revenue.

Also Read: Breitbart and Drudge Hit by Google Cloud Issue, Go Offline
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Marc Lamont Hill: Once a CNN regular, Hill lost his job as a contributor on the network after making remarks about Israel and Palestine at the UN that many called anti-semitic. A chummy photo with Louis Farrakhan -- who has compared Jews to termites -- didn't help matters for him either. He remains a tenured professor at Temple University.

Also Read: CNN Fires Contributor Marc Lamont Hill Over Israel Remarks (Video)
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CBS and "60 Minutes": Both the network and its marquee news program took a beating this year. "60 Minutes" executive producer Jeff Fager was forced out in a MeToo scandal, while details of an investigation launched by the network generally hit the press before reaching top management.
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Michael Avenatti: Just months ago, the lawyer representing Stormy Daniels in her legal fight with Donald Trump was considered a serious presidential contender. But his reputation took a hit after taking on a questionable MeToo claim against Brett Kavanaugh, and he disappeared for good after being booked on felony domestic violence charges in November (though he was not charged).

Also Read: Michael Avenatti Says He Won’t Run for President in 2020 After All
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Andy Lack: The MSNBC/NBC News chief had a rough 2018. His network's decision to pass on Ronan Farrow's historic MeToo reporting continues to reverberate. His big bet on Megyn Kelly also flopped and became a multi-million dollar ulcer which still remains far from resolved.
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Gavin McInnes: Always on the fringes, McInnes had nevertheless carved a niche for himself as an online provocateur, a host on CRTV and as the head of his own (occasionally violent/racist) fraternal organization, The Proud Boys. By the end of 2018, he was banned from Twitter, dropped by CRTV and had resigned from The Proud Boys.
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Univision: Univision spent $135 million on Gawker Media back in 2016 and has spent most of the time since mismanaging the former properties and being called out by its own writers. Amid buyouts to editorial and broad layoffs elsewhere, Univision revealed it is looking to cut its losses and unload the websites once and for all.

Also Read: Univision Unveils New Strategy to Drive Millennials From Their Phones to the TV (Exclusive)
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2018 was a rough year for media, and for this rogues’ gallery, the damage was particularly catastrophic

2018 was hard for a lot of media folks, but particularly so for this rogues' gallery. For some, it was MeToo. For others, industry headwinds were too much. And for more still, disgrace and ignominy came after just saying the wrong thing.

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