Syndicator Dismisses Allegations That Ann Coulter Lifted Material
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The syndicator of Ann Coulter’s newspaper columns rejected allegations that she had lifted material from other sources, saying a review of the work in question turned up nothing that merited concern.
“There are only so many ways you can rewrite a fact and minimal matching text is not plagiarism,” editor and president of Universal Press Syndicate, Lee Salem, said yesterday in a statement.
“Universal Press Syndicate is confident in the ability of Ms. Coulter, an attorney and frequent media target, to know when to make attribution and when not to.”
The New York Post and the Web sites Raw Story and the Rude Pundit have cited numerous passages in Ms. Coulter’s syndicated columns and in her current book, “Godless,” that appeared to resemble text from other sources. The Post relied upon a software program, iThenticate, designed to catch plagiarism.
Last week, the Crown Publishing Group, which released “Godless,” also dismissed questions about Ms. Coulter’s work, calling them “as trivial and meritless as they are irresponsible.”
Ms. Coulter, a conservative known for her harsh rhetoric — she labeled four September 11 widows “harpies” who exploited their husbands’ deaths — has also written the best sellers “Treason” and “Slander.” Her columns appear in more than 100 newspapers.
