Metafilter post basis for Guardian Magazine cover story?

December 2, 2007 11:36 AM

The Most Kissed Girl in the World FPP seems to have inspired the cover story for the Guardian weekend magazine on Saturday 1st December. A version of the article is on the Guardian website, albeit with a different heading.

It could be coincidence, but they used the same phrase, 'The Most Kissed Girl in the World' as their title. Even the phraseology in the introduction of the online article is very similar to blahblahblah's post, mentioning "artists and writers", and "She inspired Rilke, Man Ray and Nabokov".
I don't think there's a reference to the metafilter post in the article.
[Would have posted this yesterday but only just got internet access - apologies]

posted by algreer to MetaFilter-related at 11:36 AM (24 comments total)

We have some hotshot lawyers here.
I vote we sue the bastards and throw a party with the settlement.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 12:10 PM on December 2, 2007

On the one hand this is no big deal, on the other hand if the Grauniad's reporters are in the plagiarism habit then maybe that extends to bigger issues. If I had more hands I would have more opinions.
posted by Rumple at 12:15 PM on December 2, 2007 [3 favorites]

Hmmm.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 12:20 PM on December 2, 2007

I say we forgive them if they add a link in the Guardian site to the MetaFilter Shop and one to MetaFilter Music.
posted by micayetoca at 12:35 PM on December 2, 2007

The simple answer is that blahblahblah is Angelique Chrisafis.

He is, isn't he?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 12:35 PM on December 2, 2007

I did wonder when I saw the Guardian yesterday.
posted by jack_mo at 12:47 PM on December 2, 2007

I did a search on the authors name + metafilter and found this. I may be reading this wrong, but it appears she does have an rss feed set up for MetaFilter. Of course, this may not be the same person.
posted by itchylick at 12:54 PM on December 2, 2007

The story has made the rounds since, but what I can't figure out is why the Snopes article comes up when I searched on "the most kissed girl in the world."
posted by Brian B. at 12:54 PM on December 2, 2007

Well the phrase "the most kissed girl in the world" shows up a lot on Google. did blahblahblah actually come up with that himself, or did he take it from one of the sites he linked too?
posted by delmoi at 1:00 PM on December 2, 2007

Popular phrase aside, the mention of Rilke, Man Ray and Nabokov in the set-up seems more than coincidental to me.
posted by itchylick at 1:07 PM on December 2, 2007

Does this mean we get to use real pitchforks this time? Because that would be cool.
posted by felix betachat at 1:30 PM on December 2, 2007

Not only is "The Grauniad" not a misspelling of "The Guardian", but it's also no longer funny and one could be heavily fined for calling it that!
posted by philomathoholic at 2:12 PM on December 2, 2007 [3 favorites]

I'm not saying that they're lacing our fruit with LSD, but I'm not NOT saying that either.
posted by blue_beetle at 2:15 PM on December 2, 2007

An even weirder scenario--and I know this won't sit well with the mods or the lawyers--is that what we have found here is a parallel universe.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 3:58 PM on December 2, 2007 [3 favorites]

An even weirder scenario--and I know this won't sit well with the mods or the lawyers--is that what we have found here is a parallel universe.

With twins, right?
posted by ericb at 4:42 PM on December 2, 2007

Thanks for that link, philomathoholic—it made my day!
posted by languagehat at 5:49 PM on December 2, 2007

What we need now is an article in the LRB by Jenny Diski on how and why she left Metafilter.
posted by Wolof at 7:56 PM on December 2, 2007 [2 favorites]

*mauls Jenny Diski like a dead sheep*
posted by Wolof at 7:57 PM on December 2, 2007

The average dead sheep mauls 3.2 living humans en route to the stewpot.
posted by breezeway at 8:07 PM on December 2, 2007

Excellent, another brush with MeFi infamy, take that Stupid Thread That Left Me Off, am I good enough now?

... sorry... don't know what came over me: I am not Angelique Chrisafis, though that is such a cool name that I may have to change my name, or at least the name of my daughter's teddy bear, to match (really, say it out loud). It is also a damn good article, with deeper research and reporting than I did, so I hope my post inspired it. In any case, I know the phrasing "Most Kissed Girl in the Word" wasn't unique to me, so I don't see plagiarism.

And, yes, now when the story of the Innocent of the Seine it is told, it will be that she inspired Rilke, Rodin, and blahblahblah, who in turn inspired Angelique Chrisafis.

I take my place in the chain of history.
posted by blahblahblah at 11:09 PM on December 2, 2007 [3 favorites]

In any case, I know the phrasing "Most Kissed Girl in the Word" wasn't unique to me, so I don't see plagiarism.

Searcing "the most kissed girl in the world" comes up plenty in a reference to a statue in Germany, for good luck. It may be unique in the context you used it in, but it surfaced in a Snopes article about the dummy being a daughter of someone who invented it, but it wasn't in the text.
posted by Brian B. at 11:18 PM on December 2, 2007

languagehat: you're welcome
posted by philomathoholic at 12:11 AM on December 3, 2007

Not only is "The Grauniad" not a misspelling of "The Guardian", but it's also no longer funny

Oh no. Does this mean I'm going to have to stop 'discussing Ugandan affairs' whenever I get 'tired and emotional'?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 5:17 AM on December 3, 2007

Yes, and the fine for that is £94.
posted by matthewr at 5:47 AM on December 3, 2007