Documenting How LionhearTV Plagiarized My Article About TV5’s Mediacon (Updated with Response)

UPDATE 8/11/20: After e-mailing LionhearTV directly, I was appreciative of their prompt response and their swift action regarding the plagiarism. While they initially only further edited my original content and reprimanded their writer, I requested they delete the article and offered four other news sources from which they could write up their own report. They have since deleted the article and apologized for having overlooked the matter in the first place. They also offered a guarantee that it would not happen in the future.

Dictionary.com defines plagiarism as:
noun
1. an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own, as by not crediting the original author
2. a piece of writing or other work reflecting such unauthorized use or imitation:

Last week, a TV5 fan shared a link to the YouTube livestream of TV5’s virtual mediacon which they held in anticipation of their upcoming new programs. I decided to watch along and take some notes which then turned into a full article which I posted here on DryedMangoez.com and shared to two TV5 fan groups about an hour or two after the mediacon ended.

(I posted here and here.)

I also live tweeted the mediacon with some quotes as they happened. You can see them here in this thread:
https://twitter.com/dryedmangoez/status/1291302799884484608

Obviously being interested in television and the business, especially the current tumultuous state of Philippine television, I was excited to follow along during the mediacon and watch as just an outside observer rather than being a member of the press. (Which obviously I am not.)

Anyway, imagine my surprise this morning when a TV5 fan shared a LionhearTV article to two TV5 fan groups. (Here and here.)

What caught my eye was the article’s cover photo and its headline: ““The network of the new normal”: TV5, a spark of hope for Filipinos as it concentrates on entertainment programming”.

I clicked through to the article and low and behold, it was déjà vu for me.

I had to click over back to my own post on DryedMangoez.com to double check and sure enough, it would appear LionhearTV plagiarized my writing.

Judge for yourself in the side-by-side comparison below:

With some clever use of a thesaurus and switching around words here and there, it seems very apparent that LionhearTV copy, pasted and lightly edited my article which I posted days before.

Not only that. But the url of their featured image contains the image file name as:
TV5-TO-PROVIDE-HOPE-TO-FILIPINOS-AS-THE-“NETWORK-OF-THE-NEW-NORMAL”-TV5-MEDIACON-HIGHLIGHTS-758×403.jpg

As you can see, that is the exact title of my original post.

Needless to say I was saddened, disappointed and then angry. I know I am just someone who runs a blog that barely gets any views and tries to post during my free time. I don’t make any money from DryedMangoez.com and only do this for fun.

That is compared to the millions of followers that LionhearTV has. They are Blue-Check, verified accounts. I don’t even have 1000 followers on Twitter.

Their “awards,” for example, are reported on and promoted by both ABS-CBN and GMA Network. They also syndicate their content to other websites as well. So I will assume that they do make money from their website. Through ads as well.

So they are profiting off of plagiarizing my work. Is that a right thing to do? I don’t think so.

I obviously am just a nobody compared to them. And I’m sure they will ignore me and go on with their business. But I don’t think that excuses them or anyone from lifting my (or anyone’s) original content and passing it off as their own.

I think it is absolutely shameful and disgusting. I assume they have several contributors on their website. And I might be wrong, but I even think they were actually part of the virtual mediacon and asked a question of the TV5 executives. I, on the other hand, run DryedMangoez.com all on my own.

So then why would they need to copy and paste my article to report on a mediacon that was attended by numerous people in the press? Other major publications reported on the TV5 mediacon. But I guess they wouldn’t be able to plagiarize that content for fear of actual legal action.

Obviously, I am in no position to take any kind of legal action. But I do want to at least draw attention to such shameful actions by people in Philippine media. I can’t even put into words how I truly feel.

Is it sort of a David and Goliath situation? A larger, established and well-regarded entity being able to step all over a lowly personal blog. Perhaps because no one will notice. Because again, who am I compared to them?

I post on DryedMangoez.com for fun. I enjoy recapping my favorite shows. I enjoy putting together The Amazing Race Philippines: DryedMangoez Edition. I enjoy sharing my thoughts on Korean dramas and much more.

And while I do this for fun, I still take what I write and create seriously. And I do it with the expectation that it will not be stolen for someone else to use for their own personal gain.

I think that is common sense and common decency. Something that is in short supply these days, whether in the Philippines or abroad.