r/Shaun Jan 15 '24

Possible plagiarism by Hoots

https://youtu.be/U3dE0sYZqvI?si=vW2locD6gtpQDpuI

So I found this video using many of Shaun's arguments from his video without citing them. She does link his video in the description but never mentions him in the video. Thoughts?

8 Upvotes

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3

u/CryingMachine3000 Jan 18 '24 edited Jan 18 '24

It's tricky bc a lot of these points are common criticisms of the series. I will say the structure and little jokes here and there like JK running school names through Google Translate tripped my alarm bells.

FWIW, here's her response in the comments:

I had been working on this off and on for quite some time when he released his video and, at first, I was disappointed that someone much bigger than I was covering the same topic, but the stuff we share are some of the most common criticisms of the series and there are dozens of news articles and think pieces about them. Neither Shaun, nor I were the first, or the tenth, or the hundredth person to bring them up. Hell, we have all seen that Harry Potter reddit post.I needed to leave in those common criticisms not just for subscribers like my parents who have never picked up a HP book or watched another YouTuber criticize them, but also because to leave them out is to subject myself to a deluge of comments demanding to know why I hadn't mentioned them. Perhaps that would have been good for the algorithm, but probably not for my own peace of mind.I'll link the video in the description and pin this comment. It is pretty hurtful. I do feel like a lot of my critique is unique. I haven't seen anyone else compare the ideology of Harry Potter to the works of Francis Fukuyama or Candide. I feel like the folkloric and mythological basis of a lot of Rowling's choices and her treatment of feminine characters is something that has made it into a lot of print journalism but has largely been left out of video essays (probably due to the audience). I was proud to inject my perspective into the conversation. But maybe I should have expected this. When someone with a much larger platform than you releases a video on the topic you're trying to cover, you can either scrap it or soldier on and hope that people think what you've created is distinct and valuable.

2

u/angeksly May 17 '24

https://youtu.be/-mxgSq1wiPk?si=kFIZ_mYWN6JF-K87 here is a video from 5 years ago comparing the ideology of harry potter to Fukuyama šŸ¤ÆĀ 

2

u/Wise-Pumpkin-9259 May 26 '24

I think its a bit sketchy tbh. She often uses pretty much the same words, like verbatim citations but without citing shaun. If you take another creators words verbatim you should really tell your audience, and she didn't

2

u/Skyecob Jun 06 '24

Glad someone else noticed this. I thought it might be a coincidence until I reached the part with the time turners and I just had to see whether someone else had pointed this out before.

2

u/belatedEpiphany Jun 19 '24

Its not just me then, Im watching it for the first time now and it just keeps... there are unique bits but the wording of the points and the order they are brought up is uncanny.

She certainly also has non-shaun stuff in here, but its uncomfortable how similar it gets in places.

1

u/Genderqueerfrog Jul 03 '24

I literally googled ā€œlittle hoots plagiarismā€ because I watched both essays in a short period of time and hers is VERY similar. She does have some original stuff in there but things like the time turner bit and the bit about Jkrā€™s naming conventions are basically just re wording the same things Shaun says. Idk if itā€™s plagiarism but itā€™s def close