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The original was posted on /r/amitheasshole by /u/Antique-Captain-2593 on 2024-01-23 06:00:16+00:00.
I am a freelance science writer. For the past ~6 months I’ve been working with a client to review and update some educational materials. As far as I know, they have been happy with my work - I have a friendly relationship with the primary client, and I’ve only received only positive feedback throughout the job.
About a week ago, I inadvertently discovered several instances of plagiarized text in their materials. I wasn’t actively looking for this, but happened upon it while reviewing reference material. I debated about whether to say anything, but ultimately decided that it was my ethical duty to call it out. I sent a carefully worded e-mail to the client, letting her know what I discovered. I made it clear that I wasn’t trying to accuse anyone and didn’t want to make a big deal, but felt like it was my responsibility to let her know about it. I also said that I would rewrite those sections to remove the plagiarized text.
A couple of days later, I received an email from this same client telling me that they would be “slowing down” their work with me. No explanation was given, and I was quite surprised since we are only about halfway done with the proposed updates. Now I’m wondering if I made the wrong choice by bringing up the plagiarism issue. I appreciate that, as a freelancer, I shouldn’t be putting my nose in their business or questioning their methods, but I still feel like reporting it was the right thing to do. So, did I make the wrong call? Was it an AH move to report this issue to a company I don’t technically work for?