Jen Kiggans Plagiarized Former Rep. Luria’s Arguments On National Security Threats Posed By China In A Fundraising Email That Attempted To Attack Luria With “Almost Verbatim” Quotes From Her Op-Ed
Kiggans Sent A Fundraising Email Attacking Luria On China That Appeared To Steal Language Directly From An Op-Ed Luria Published Four Days Earlier. “Jen Kiggans, the top Republican candidate in a pivotal House race next year, recently sent out a fundraising email dinging her opponent as part of a Democratic coalition that doesn’t ‘put America first’ and will ‘cower to China.’ That email, however, would likely receive a failing grade in a classroom; it lifts key phrases from her Democratic opponent. Kiggans, in the attempt to pillory her political rival—two-term incumbent Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA)—actually agrees with her, and appears to have stolen language directly from a Wall Street Journal op-ed Luria published four days prior to the email blast.” [Daily Beast, 7/16/21]
Washington Post: Kiggans “Appeared To Parrot Luria’s Argument About National Security Threats Posed By China In A Fundraising Email — Almost Verbatim In Some Places.” “Case in point: As the Daily Beast first reported this month, a top contender for the Republican nomination, state Sen. Jen A. Kiggans (R-Virginia Beach), appeared to parrot Luria’s argument about national security threats posed by China in a fundraising email — almost verbatim in some places.” [Washington Post, 7/23/21]
Kiggans “Lifted Some Words” From Luria’s Own Talking Points To Use Against Her. “According to The Daily Beast, Jen Kiggans' recent fundraising email has become a topic of scrutiny due to a number of the quotes included in it. The publication reports that the words were gravely similar to what was written in her Democratic opponent, Rep. Elaine Luria's (D-Va.) latest op-ed. […] Marty Steffen, chair of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, weighed in with a critical assessment of Kiggans' email. While Steffan admitted that Kiggan did lift some words, he insists there may be ‘cause and effect’ for her doing so as he noted that the email appears to be a response to the op-ed. ‘She lifted some words, and I'm absolutely sure there's a cause and effect here. The email is clearly a response to the op-ed, and tries to use those talking points against her.’” [Salon, 7/18/21]
HEADLINE: “GOP Candidate Busted For Ripping Off Democratic Opponent's Recent Op-Ed” [AlterNet, 7/17/21]
HEADLINE: “It Sure Looks Like This GOP Congressional Candidate Plagiarized Her Democratic Opponent” [Salon, 7/18/21]
Kiggans’ Plagiarized Email Text Directly Compared To Original Op-Ed Written By Rep. Elaine Luria
Plagiarized Text From Kiggans’ Fundraising Email On China:
Image: see original report, p. 155
[Kiggans Fundraising Email, 7/11/21]
Note: Highlighted the similarities (color coded based on each copied point)
Compared To Original Text From Op-Ed On Chinese Security Written By Rep. Elaine Luria.
Image: see original report, p. 156
[Wall Street Journal, Elaine Luria, Op-Ed, 7/7/21]
Note: Highlighted the similarities (color coded based on each copied point)
Kiggans’ Campaign Refused To Answer Questions About Plagiarizing Luria
Kiggans’ Campaign Did Not Answer Repeated Questions About The Similarities Between Her Email And Luria’s Op-Ed And Whether Kiggans Wrote The Email Herself. “Kiggans’ campaign spokesperson Bryan Piligra did not answer The Daily Beast’s repeated questions about the coinciding verbiage and whether the candidate wrote the email herself. He instead provided a statement highlighting Kiggans’ foreign policy credentials. ‘As a Navy veteran, Jen Kiggans knows the threat of the Chinese Communist Party to the United States both economically and militarily. Not only does Jen hold a degree in International Relations with a concentration in East Asia from Boston University, but she also taught English in Japan so is extremely aware of the threat the CCP poses to the region and the world,’ the statement said. ‘She didn’t start taking China seriously because Elaine Luria suddenly decided to pen an oped.’” [Daily Beast, 7/16/21]
Language Experts Noted It Was Infinitesimally Unlikely That Kiggans’ Word Choice Was Accidental And Not Plagiarized
Linguistic Analysis Expert Mark Algee-Hewitt Estimated 1 In 10,000,000,000,000,000,000 Chance That Kiggans’ Word Choice Was Accidental And Not Plagiarized. “English experts have offered different perspectives on the email. While some have defended Kiggans’ writing, others have admitted that there is a slim chance the email was written coincidentally. Mark Algee-Hewitt, director of the Literary Lab at Stanford University a statistical linguistic analysis expert, described the email as ‘really bizarre.’ The publication also noted that Algee-Hewitt’s software ‘analysis pegged the probability that one of the phrases in question was accidental at one in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000.’” [Salon, 7/18/21]
- Algee-Hewitt Said Kiggans’ Odds Of Accidental Word Choice Were Less Likely Than Being Elected President And Winning Powerball In Same Year. “Speaking to The Daily Beast, he also noted: ‘For comparison's sake, that is less likely than you being elected president of the USA and winning the Powerball lottery in the same year.’” [Salon, 7/18/21]