Recently (early January 2024), following allegations of plagiarism against his wife, Neri Oxman, Bill Ackman announced he was launching an investigation into plagiarism cases by MIT leadership and faculty, implied that the current policies as stated are likely frequently violated, and discussed whether plagiarism standards need to change.
https://x.com/billackman/status/1743792224020619450?s=46&t=A87brvrcPNLRU2RL6LBEZQ
It is possible that MIT will start a review of their policies in response to this challenge.
Will MIT’s publicly-posted policy on plagiarism change in 2024?
The policy is currently posted here: https://integrity.mit.edu/handbook/what-plagiarism
I have found another section on plagiarism here: https://handbook.mit.edu/academic
I have taken screenshots of the policy (on both sites) as of today, 1/20/2024, and will compare it throughout and at the end of the year.
Clarifications for this market (these will be updated if there are questions):
Any change to the text or substance of the policy page or plagiarism section of the manual, either a substantive change, additional clarifications added, or any language removed, will count for the purposes of this market.
A change to the style (e.g. changing the color scheme) that doesn’t affect the substance or text of the policy will not count.
(1/28/24): added the year to the title for clarity. It was already included in the description and the resolution timeline.
@JimAusman That would be a bit of a disappointment for me personally. I think current plagiarism rules, or their interpretation, is often too simplistic, and we could do with a reevaluation.
@SantiagoRomeroBrufau It would be interesting for sure if this blew up into a bigger examination of scholarship in general.