I am deeply saddened to have been wrongly accused of plagiarism in the creation of my recent @Forbes article: What Do Countries With The Best Coronavirus Responses Have In Common? Women Leaders.
Full rebuttal and evidence available to view here 1/11 – avivahwittenberg-cox.com/response-aviva…
Full rebuttal and evidence available to view here 1/11 – avivahwittenberg-cox.com/response-aviva…
I didn't cite Ms. Seck as I had not heard of her and did not read her piece until after mine was published. While Ms. Seck may mistakenly believe she has been wronged, there are no similarities in the articles beyond the overall topic of women leaders dealing with COVID-19 2/11
I detest plagiarism. I also recognise the particular anger sparked by these accusations, given the appalling history of more privileged persons taking credit for the hard work of those less privileged, in particular from women of colour. This is not what has happened here. 3/11
Here was what I was reading while I wrote my blog. The conversation was already all over the web – I added a #leadership lens. 4/11 
All my friends and networks were discussing the fabulous female #leaders and their crisis management. It was the differences they brought that I found so fascinating: Truth, Decisiveness, Tech & Love. 5/11
My article and Ms. Seck’s have nothing in common beyond the over-arching topic of women leaders and COVID-19, already being discussed across the web. Not the approach, not the countries covered, nor the sources. 6/11
Focusing on 1 example. Ms Seck’s take on Angela Merkel in Germany and mine. 7/11
Another example. Ms Seck’s take on New Zealand beside my take. 8/11
For anyone concerned that my Forbes blog could have been altered following Ms Seck’s accusations, please find the original cached copy of my blog here web.archive.org/web/2020041317…
Identical to the present one here forbes.com/sites/avivahwi… 9/11
Identical to the present one here forbes.com/sites/avivahwi… 9/11
You can read my article here forbes.com/sites/avivahwi…
and Ms Seck’s article here amina-mag.com/covid-19-les-f…
For those that do not speak both English and French we have translated both articles here - avivahwittenberg-cox.com/response-aviva… 10/11
and Ms Seck’s article here amina-mag.com/covid-19-les-f…
For those that do not speak both English and French we have translated both articles here - avivahwittenberg-cox.com/response-aviva… 10/11
While I feel for anyone who believes they have been plagiarised, this is a case of defamation against me. I hope that when Ms Seck reviews the evidence herself she will acknowledge that her accusations are unfounded and withdraw her defaming comments. 11/11
