Michael Bloomberg's presidential campaign appears to have plagiarized portions of its policy plans from news outlets, research publications, non-profit organizations and policy groups.
An analysis by The Intercept found the campaign lifted text — sometimes verbatim — without attribution for policy plans on maternal health, LGBTQ equality, the economy, tax policy, infrastructure and mental health.
At least eight plans or fact sheets distributed by the Bloomberg campaign copied material from CNN, Time and CBS News, among others, as well as the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the American Medical Association, all without attribution.
The campaign didn't deny that plagiarism but instead blamed the issue on technical difficulties.
"Much of what you flagged were fact sheets that went out via MailChimp," the campaign said in a statement, "which doesn't support footnote formatting. When we announce policy platforms, we put together detailed fact sheets with context and supporting background, so that reporters understand the problem we're trying to solve with our policy. For sourcing, we often look to the organizations that Mike has led or worked with in the past, like the City of New York and Building America's Future. We have since added citations and links to these documents."
Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City and a billionaire businessman, has ties to some of the organizations his campaign plagiarized, including Everytown for Gun Safety, which he co-founded, and Building America's Future Educational Fund.
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