Plagiarism, Misrepresentation, and AI Integrity Policy
- Jan 18
- 4 min read
Last Update: January 18, 2026
Purpose and Scope
This policy establishes the standards For The Writers applies to safeguard originality, authorship integrity, factual honesty, and responsible use of artificial intelligence tools. It is designed to prevent plagiarism, misrepresentation, fabricated authority, and improper or undisclosed use of AI.
This policy applies to all submissions and published materials, including Resource Contributions, Industry Analysis, Reported Features, Personal Essays, Interviews, Profiles, Directory submissions, corrections, updates, and any content submitted for editorial consideration.
Definitions
Plagiarism: The presentation of another person’s words, ideas, structure, or intellectual labor as one’s own without proper attribution or permission.
Self-Plagiarism: Reuse of previously published work without disclosure, where such reuse misrepresents originality or publication status.
Misrepresentation: Any false or misleading statement about authorship, credentials, experience, sourcing, originality, or the nature of the work.
Generative AI: Any automated system capable of producing text, images, or other content based on prompts or training data.
AI-Assisted Work: Work in which AI tools were used for drafting, rewriting, summarizing, structuring, or substantive content generation.
AI-Generated Work: Work produced primarily or substantially by generative AI rather than by human authorship.
Core Principles
Originality: All submissions must represent the author’s original intellectual labor unless clearly disclosed and permitted
Transparency: Contributors must accurately disclose prior publication, reuse, and AI involvement
Attribution: Sources, influences, and prior appearances must be acknowledged where required
Accountability: Authors are responsible for the integrity of their submissions, regardless ofthe tools used
Editorial Trust: For The Writers relies on contributor certifications and enforces this policy to preserve institutional credibility
Plagiarism Standards
For The Writers does not publish work that includes any of the following.
Verbatim copying of text without quotation and attribution
Close paraphrasing that preserves distinctive structure, language, or argument without attribution
Use of proprietary, paywalled, or copyrighted material beyond lawful quotation
Submission of another person’s work, in whole or in part, as original authorship
Patchwork plagiarism combining multiple unattributed sources
Authors must ensure that any quoted material is accurately reproduced, properly attributed, and limited in scope.
Self-Plagiarism and Prior Publication
Authors must disclose any prior publication, distribution, or public posting of submitted material, including the following formats.
Books or book excerpts
Literary journals or magazines
Newsletters or Substack posts
Blogs or personal websites
Social media threads
Conference papers or talks
Permitted reuse is evaluated on a case-by-case basis and depends on transparency, rights status, and editorial relevance. Undisclosed reuse that misrepresents originality is grounds for rejection or withdrawal.
Misrepresentation and Credential Integrity
Authors must not misrepresent any of the following.
Identity, authorship, or rights ownership
Professional role, employment, affiliations, or credentials
Publication history, awards, or recognition
Access to information, sources, or expertise
Independence or conflicts of interest
Fabricated credentials, inflated authority, deceptive omissions, and false claims of experience constitute serious violations.
Generative AI Disclosure Requirements
For The Writers requires disclosure of generative AI use for all submissions.
Authors must disclose whether AI tools were used for any of the following.
Drafting or generating text
Rewriting or paraphrasing
Structural outlining or argument development
Summarization or condensation
Editing beyond spelling or grammar
Disclosure must be accurate, complete, and made at the time of submission.
Prohibited AI Use
For The Writers will not publish work that involves any of the following uses of AI.
AI-generated work presented as human-authored without disclosure
AI-generated reporting, interviews, or quotations
Fabricated citations, sources, or references produced by AI
Use of AI to impersonate individuals or fabricate expertise
Use of AI to evade plagiarism detection or obscure source origins
AI may not be used as a substitute for reporting, lived experience, or original analysis.
Acceptable AI Use
Limited AI assistance may be permitted when properly disclosed and when it does not undermine authorship integrity.
Examples of potentially acceptable use include the following.
Grammar and spelling correction
Light stylistic polishing without content generation
Formatting assistance
Non-substantive language refinement
Even when permitted, authors remain fully responsible for accuracy, originality, and compliance with all policies.
Verification and Editorial Review
For The Writers reserves the right to conduct originality checks, request drafts or notes, and require clarification regarding authorship or AI use.
Editorial review may include the following actions.
Plagiarism screening
AI-detection analysis
Requests for source attribution or documentation
Requests for disclosure clarification
Comparison against known publications or archives
Detection tools are used as indicators, not sole decision-makers.
Author Certifications
By submitting material, the author certifies that the following statements are true.
The work is original and authored by the submitter except as fully disclosed.
All quoted or referenced material is properly attributed.
Any AI use has been accurately disclosed.
No portion of the work is intentionally misleading or deceptive.
False certification constitutes a serious breach of editorial trust.
Corrections, Withdrawal, and Enforcement
If plagiarism, misrepresentation, or undisclosed AI use is identified, For The Writers may take one or more of the following actions.
Reject the submission without further review.
Withdraw accepted or published material.
Publish a correction or editor’s note.
Require public disclosure of the issue when appropriate.
Restrict or permanently suspend future submission privileges.
Severity, intent, and impact are considered in enforcement decisions.
Recordkeeping and Cooperation
Authors must cooperate with reasonable requests related to originality verification, AI disclosure, and corrective action.
Failure to cooperate may result in withdrawal or an escalation of enforcement.
Governing Terms and Related Policies
This policy operates alongside the For The Writers Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, contributor terms, the Legal and Defamation Risk Policy, and the Anonymity and Identity Risk Policy. Where governing documents control, they apply as specified therein.
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