WHAT MONTANANS ARE WATCHING: Tim Sheehy’s Plagiarism Scandal Raises Serious Doubts About Montanans’ Ability to Trust his Word
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
CONTACT
rehm@mtdems.org
Helena, MT – Following reporting from the Daily Montanan that Shady Sheehy plagiarized at least four sections of his book, Montana news outlets are covering how Sheehy’s plagiarism is the latest in a series of scandals that have eroded Montanans’ trust.
Since launching his campaign, Sheehy has misled Montanans about who he is and what he believes. Whether it’s how his “bullet story doesn't add up," lying about his support for transferring public lands, falsely claiming he parachuted into Glacier National Park for military training, or claiming he grew up “rural”when he actually grew up in the suburbs 15 minutes from the Twin Cities – Sheehy seems incapable of telling Montanans the truth.
Coverage below:
KRTV: Sheehy accused of possible plagiarism
September 24, 2024
Hailey Monaco
In the video above, Hailey Monaco reports on a plagiarism accusation against US Senate candidate Tim Sheehy of Montana.
Darrell Ehrlick, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Montanan and author of the article, said they first received a tip that the book seemed "suspicious." So, the organization ran the book through software to check for similar work online.
“There were four passages that were, I would say questionable, if not outright plagiarism,” Ehrlick said. "This is a book that does not have end notes, footnotes, or citations."
“Let's be clear, there's nothing wrong with taking other sources, citing, attributing, quoting. All of those are perfectly legitimate. The challenge becomes when you don't give the proper citation or reference,” Ehrlick said.
According to the article, the plagiarism ranges from using a definition from Wikipedia without citation, to full paragraphs with just a few words changed.
“It's important for Montana voters to know his background. It's also important for them to know what is the work product that he has produced so far, and I think that basically every time you receive a ballot, it is in a sense asking for trust,” Ehrlick said.
MSU-Billings political science professor Dr. Paul Pope, who was also quoted in Ehrlick's article, said if plagiarism happens in his class, it would be a serious offense.
“In many cases, the student who plagiarizes, they're going to fail the course,” Pope said. “This is a bigger deal than some people might even think. Plagiarism, it does erode the trust.”
Both MTN News and the Daily Montanan requested comment from Sheehy through his campaign but have not yet received a response.
Montana Public Radio: Montana Senate candidate Tim Sheehy accused of plagiarism
September 24, 2024
Shaylee Ragar
A book written by the Republican candidate running for U.S. Senate in Montana appears to contain passages lifted from outside sources without credit. That’s according to an analysis from the Daily Montanan.
The outlet reportedly ran Tim Sheehy’s book, “Mudslingers: A True Story of Aerial Firefighting,” through software that scans texts and compares it to previously published works. The analysis found that four passages appear to be plagiarized.
In a phone call, a Sheehy campaign spokesperson questioned why MTPR was covering this story and did not offer a statement on the Daily Montanan’s report.
Sheehy is not the first Montana Senate candidate to face reports of plagiarism. In 2014, former Democratic U.S. Sen. John Walsh was found to have appropriated others’ work without attribution for about a quarter of his master’s thesis for the U.S. Army College. He subsequently dropped out of the race.
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