Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat
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K Mennem of the San Diego Reader and various blogs has also written about the topic. Below are Mennem's remarks click to enlarge:
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K. Mennem:
Note: Adam Parfrey is a publisher and editor for the company which released the Blog del Narco book about Lucy. This conversation took place on Amazon, where I knew a publisher would eventually check the comments.
Stolen info, April 4, 2013
By K.Mennem "K.Mennem"
This review is from: Dying for the Truth: Undercover Inside the Mexican Drug War by the Fugitive Reporters of Blog del Narco (Paperback)
95% or more of Blog Del Narcos info is complete plagiarism. These are not anonymous sources. They are copy and paste jobs from news-sites and blogs across Mexico and the US border region. They give no credit to authors or other websites. They rarely post info first.
I wish you would have done some research before this was published.
Adam Parfrey says:
this is a LIE from a guy who runs crappier and more derivative blogs based on Blog del Narco...
K.Mennem says:
On Wednesday a report was published in The Texas Observer and The UK Guardian, titled
‘Why Blog del Narco Became Mexico’s Most Important Website’. The article summarizes the history of BDN with a big reveal of the blog’s creator a young woman named “Lucy”. The article is published just as Lucy’s book “Dying for the Truth” is launched.
Ironic is how I would describe the title of the book, for as BDN has been less than truthful regarding the authors of the articles posted on their blog. The dirty little secret of BDN is they do not author the material offered on their blog. They copy and paste articles, usually changing the title and sometimes adding photos, but the text is the creation of others, mostly mainstream journalists, and a few bloggers. And they do this without the benefit of any type of source credit.
When the book and article was released there began a protest of sort by those attempting to provide Texas Observer and The Guardian information that disputed the claims of “Lucy”, and the true nature of their material. The Guardian removed any comment that was not in line with their story line. Texas Observer was a little more hospitable and left a few remaining. Quite simply they did not want to ruin the fairytale.
When writers began researching the claims and then writing about the less than honorable practice, Lucy’s publisher, “Feral Publishing”, went into restoration mode in peculiar fashion. While ignoring evidence sent to Feral their statements/excuses are evolving and the latest is this:
“Blog Del Narco never made the claim of being journalism per se, but an information-gathering resource where readers could find material about the Drug War that wasn’t otherwise available, or if it was available somewhere, not seen by many readers at all. People who wrote for Blog Del Narco included hundreds of individuals who forwarded their posts to Blog Del Narco but had no desire to be “credited” at all, since these credits could inflame cartel anger. As a result, Blog Del Narco often became a repository of material from journalists, police and ordinary citizens who wanted to remain anonymous.”
Huh?
So, El Universal, Milenio, Reforma, El Sol, Proceso, Diario, Vanguardia, etc, etc etc are afraid? That is so illogical it is an insult to the intelligence of people. How is it that an article is published in popular, mainstream or regional publications on one day, freely exhibiting the authors name, is then hours later or the next day finds itself in Blog del Narco, sans credit, and we are to believe the fear developed in a few hours? Yet they continue to have the article running in their publication? It is inconceivable that they would both post on a mainstream publication and yet give to BDN to post anonymously.
In a recent post Michel Maizco of "Fronteras"explores the issue of BDN’s material and its origins; in his article he gives examples of recent BDN posts as he offers the BDN post and the original post source side by side, much lik my side my side example at the top of this post. In one case he contacts the reporter of El Sol, Paco Zorroza, who reports he did not give permission for BDN to republish his work.
Maizco writes, “The country’s news reporters are targeted and assassinated for reporting on the situation, the narrative goes. They are cowed into silence. Then one day, this woman steps in fill the void. She begins to blog about what’s happening in her country, telling readers about the atrocities that reporters can no longer write about. "Lucy" calls it Blog Del Narco.” Writing further Maizco says, “A review of recent stories by the Fronteras Desk shows the owners of Blog Del Narco have published the same stories as the Mexican journalists they say they had to replace”.
He concludes “What is clear however is that Blog Del Narco reports on the exact same stories the Mexican journalists report on. Yet the blog, and now a new book written by the blog owners, claims they are the only ones reporting the truth in Mexico”.
It is a simple process for publications or the book publisher to investigate and examine the facts, and determine if the author of the material gave permission. It is an easy task. Give me a post and I will find the original author in minutes, they are not hiding.
Of course it is not all bad when speaking of BDN, they have provided a needed service and I struggle with what aspect is more important no matter their motive. They have provided the Spanish speaking public with information that perhaps they would not have seen otherwise. I have often stated I would rather be in a world with BDN than not.
Oh the other hand, they represent what is wrong with Mexico. It is not narcos, narcos are opportunists they are the byproduct of the true culpa. Corruption. Corruption has permeated every agency, system of justice, political party and has grown roots deep into the core of Mexican society. Bluntly speaking, it is accepted and expected by Mexicans.
Until that mindset changes, demands for a lawful and fair society will not be forthcoming, and opportunists will flourish and multiply.
For example; my own staff in Coahuila, all wonderful, caring, hardworking people lives with the premise that getting paid for one’s vote is perfectly acceptable. And when I try to explain why it is wrong to accept a bid for half price from the security company employee offering to work after hours, rather than accepting the full price bid from the man’s employer, they nod their heads at my explanation, but their faces tell me they don’t understand.
But all that said, people must be held accountable for their actions, especially in cases that others are dying for the work that has been taken and used without credit. Reasonable people would be satisfied with source credit. I have only been asked once to take down the work of someone I republished, this after giving full credit, adding a link to his blog, but that was not good enough, and honestly I had no issue with complying with his request. It is his work. I respect that. Obviously the man does not reside in Mexico however.
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The most daring act of taking material from others is when BDN created an English Language blog naming it Blog Drug Trafficker. This was in April 2011. By accident I discovered it a year ago. It is an exact clone of Borderland Beat. Each post in real time is posted off the RSS feed on to their website. And each post states the administrator wrote the post. I began writing Borderland Beat at the top left, so in effect making it known it is Borderland Beat. It works because the blog is automatically posting articles, no human intervention. An inadvertent display of poetic justice was displayed when this post was posted on BDT and had a glitch and reposted 67 times. T left is a screenshot of the top post on BDT. It is Havana's latest post. Click to enlarge.
In preparation for this post I checked BDN with the thought of gathering the latest posts and track down the true authors of the posts, which is easy to do. What I found was there are only two recent posts, those of last Wednesday April 10th.
The first BDN post:
"5 personas son ejecutadas en Guerrero; dejan mensajes" BDN changed the title of the original article which is:
"Ejecutan a 5 Personas en Guerrero, Dejan Message"The article is authored by Paco Zorroza for El Sol de Puebla
The second BDN post:
"EU congela todos los bienes a José Miguel Handal Pérez aliado de ”El Chapo” y ”Zetas”BDN changed the title of the original article which is:
"Incluye EU en 'Lista negra' a aliado de 'Chapo' y "Zetas"The article is authored by Silvia Otero for El Universal
[See side by side posts at the top of this post]
In closing I will stress though it is frustrating, it really is not about BB, we do this work as volunteers, under our terms, it is not our livelihood, it is really about the many journalists that have been killed in the line of duty like Regina Martinez of Proceso in Veracruz. They truly lived and died for writing the truth, and it was their work that was not given credit, and clearly should have. It is about those true heroes of Mexico.K Mennem of the San Diego Reader and various blogs has also written about the topic. Below are Mennem's remarks click to enlarge:
Continues on next page
An interesting tweet exchange between the Guardian and Mennem, notice the excuse is different than the; 'I can't tell you which journalists are giving me the information, they may be killed', this one is 'they never said they write all their material'.
The following is written by K Mennem related his personal account:
Rory Carroll wrote this story- 'They stole our dreams': blogger reveals cost of reporting Mexico's drug wars
"Exclusive: Anonymous author of celebrated Blog del Narco speaks for first time about the risks – and reveals she is a woman"
Reported in partnership with the Texas Observer
My conversation with him on twitter:
from @K. Mennem to @rorycarroll72 @GuardianUS You do realize that over 95% of Blog del Narcos info is complete plagiarism right?
-Before he replies, Erin Siegal a reporter based in Tijuana jumps in-
from @erinsiegal >It makes me wonder about copyright law in Mex, something I don't know much about..... @K_Mennem @rorycarroll72 @GuardianUS
from @erinsiegal to @K_Mennem @rorycarroll72 @GuardianUS Also makes me wonder is the US publisher of the book will be liable for any possible plagiarism...?
Rory Carroll then responds:
from @rorycarroll72 to @K_Mennem @erinsiegal The blog aggregated its own and others' material, didn't claim it was all original reporting. Readers knew that
from @rorycarroll72 to @K_Mennem Attribution cd and should be better, agreed, but in Mx info vacuum getting stories out + repeating them is hugely valuable.
I then responded:
from @K_Mennem to @rorycarroll72 Your article failed to mention that as well. You make it sound as if they are collecting anonymous sources and writing it
from @K_Mennem to @rorycarroll72 Blog del Narco is a collection of articles from all over the web, social media, and newspapers. From MX and US.
from @K_mennem to @rorycarroll72 It has been for years. Owners and those writing about BdN should state what it is, not mislead readers.
from @K_mennem to @rorycarroll72 Credit needs to be given to the reporters from Zeta magazine, El-Mexicano in TJ, El Sol de Cuernavaca, and more
from @K_mennem to @rorycarroll72 these journalists are putting their ass on the line daily, but when Americans read this they give Blog del Narco credit
At this point Rory probably realized he had messed up with his article and did not respond. Erin and others chimed in. There is more, probably would be just as easy to read it off my twitter. Sorry if this was a confusing format.
from @erinsiegal to @K_Mennem @rorycarroll72 Agree with K. on this one... it would be interesting to take 50 recent posts & find out the % of, um, "aggregation"
Chivis: "K" then moves to Amazon where he has an exchange with the publisher, it is blatantly obvious that either the publisher/Texas Observer or The Guardian are thick or just want the fantasy and not the truth.
K. Mennem:
Note: Adam Parfrey is a publisher and editor for the company which released the Blog del Narco book about Lucy. This conversation took place on Amazon, where I knew a publisher would eventually check the comments.
Stolen info, April 4, 2013
By K.Mennem "K.Mennem"
This review is from: Dying for the Truth: Undercover Inside the Mexican Drug War by the Fugitive Reporters of Blog del Narco (Paperback)
95% or more of Blog Del Narcos info is complete plagiarism. These are not anonymous sources. They are copy and paste jobs from news-sites and blogs across Mexico and the US border region. They give no credit to authors or other websites. They rarely post info first.
I wish you would have done some research before this was published.
Adam Parfrey says:
this is a LIE from a guy who runs crappier and more derivative blogs based on Blog del Narco...
K.Mennem says:
You clearly have no idea what your talking about then if you do not know where Blog del Narco gets their info. It may be useful in the U.S. for collection of info. In Mexico it is pure plagiarism.
A SPECIFIC CASE OF PLAGIARISM
A colleague of mine, wrote this article on April 2nd, 2013.
http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldecuernavaca/notas/n2934104.htm
Blog del Narco copy and pasted his article two days later and published it as there own. Giving NO CREDIT!
http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2013/04/taxista-es-ejecutado-en-morelos/#more-18490
K.Mennem says:
The point is this person is getting credit for others work. She is not giving credit to those she steals from. How are you ok with that?
Michel Marizco wrote in 2010 about the blatant plagiarism by Blog del Narco http://borderreporter.com/2010/08/blogueros-no-periodista/
Adam Parfrey says:
Maybe K. Mennem will let on that he has an ulterior motive here, that he's linked to competitive blogs of Blog Del Narco and obviously jealous that Blog Del Narco gets a great deal more attention. BTW, who the f..k cares? It's all about reporter the reality of the grotesque drug culture and running for one's life for reporting it.
K. Mennem says:
I write, contribute, and photograph for numerous news agencies. I also run two blogs and contribute to one. I spend a good portion of my time IN Mexico. My writings are not competing with anyone, as I work with journalists all over Mexico and the US. This is merely about hard working journalists getting their works stolen and not getting a mere word of credit. That's all. Blog del Narco and MundoNarco have been stealing articles and info for years. Its nothing new. Go to Twitter, journalists are questioning Blog del Narco now more than ever.
You on the other hand as the publisher, have a lot on the line. I understand why you are upset now.
Adam Parfrey says:
Unfortunately, you have become a troll, trying to destroy the competition. Fortunately for Feral House, readers find great value in the book here. Just look at the sales rank.
K.Mennem says:
I am just informing readers who have been misinformed. I am not trying to sell books or advertisements Adam.
I wish you the best of luck with your book. I am sure I will look through it.
Adam Parfrey says:
you must know, of course, that reviewing a book you haven't even looked at is against the rules here...
K.Mennem says:
That is fine. Are you on Twitter? We can move this discussion there.
Adam stopped responding....
A SPECIFIC CASE OF PLAGIARISM
A colleague of mine, wrote this article on April 2nd, 2013.
http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldecuernavaca/notas/n2934104.htm
Blog del Narco copy and pasted his article two days later and published it as there own. Giving NO CREDIT!
http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2013/04/taxista-es-ejecutado-en-morelos/#more-18490
K.Mennem says:
The point is this person is getting credit for others work. She is not giving credit to those she steals from. How are you ok with that?
Michel Marizco wrote in 2010 about the blatant plagiarism by Blog del Narco http://borderreporter.com/2010/08/blogueros-no-periodista/
Adam Parfrey says:
Maybe K. Mennem will let on that he has an ulterior motive here, that he's linked to competitive blogs of Blog Del Narco and obviously jealous that Blog Del Narco gets a great deal more attention. BTW, who the f..k cares? It's all about reporter the reality of the grotesque drug culture and running for one's life for reporting it.
K. Mennem says:
I write, contribute, and photograph for numerous news agencies. I also run two blogs and contribute to one. I spend a good portion of my time IN Mexico. My writings are not competing with anyone, as I work with journalists all over Mexico and the US. This is merely about hard working journalists getting their works stolen and not getting a mere word of credit. That's all. Blog del Narco and MundoNarco have been stealing articles and info for years. Its nothing new. Go to Twitter, journalists are questioning Blog del Narco now more than ever.
You on the other hand as the publisher, have a lot on the line. I understand why you are upset now.
Adam Parfrey says:
Unfortunately, you have become a troll, trying to destroy the competition. Fortunately for Feral House, readers find great value in the book here. Just look at the sales rank.
K.Mennem says:
I am just informing readers who have been misinformed. I am not trying to sell books or advertisements Adam.
I wish you the best of luck with your book. I am sure I will look through it.
Adam Parfrey says:
you must know, of course, that reviewing a book you haven't even looked at is against the rules here...
K.Mennem says:
That is fine. Are you on Twitter? We can move this discussion there.
Adam stopped responding....