Duplicate Content or Facts?

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   Anita Haschposted 6 years ago

   I would like advice on the following. I uploaded a new hub 'Lost In The Ocean,' which I have now deleted. It stated duplicate content. I spend a lot of time on this hub, rewriting it. However, it was refused for publishing due to duplicate content. The only duplicate content in this hub, was the facts. This is a true story, you can't change the facts, otherwise you are changing non-fiction to fiction. In fact I could weave a lovely story on the content of this hub. My main reason about writing about 'Plane Crashes,' Disasters,' 'True Crime,' is about the heroes in these incidents. Ordinary people who in times of great stress and with no thought for their own safety, save the lives of fellow passengers.
   
   For instance 'Bonnie and Clyde,' you can't change the facts, then it is no longer the truth. So please how do you write non-fiction so that it gets published without changing the facts?

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      It's "duplicate" because you are repeating information that already exists elsewhere on the internet.

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   Marisa Wrightposted 6 years ago

   There are lots of different things you can write about in non-fiction.  The most successful Hubs on HubPages are ones where the writer is able to give their personal slant on a popular subject - whether that's personal experience of a country, or a product, or a health challenge, or relationships.   Others have had great success by writing based on their special expertise in a particular subject - again,using their personal knowledge.
   
   I know you love history, but there's not much point in rewriting what's already covered on many other websites.  If you can't add a new perspective or some new information, it's not going to get much readership so it's really not worth it, I'm afraid.

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      Anita Haschposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I agree Marisa, but as I said I find these stories fascinating. These hero's who are ordinary people, should have their stories repeated many times. Why! because their are so many scum bags around. Look around you. People in good positions, earning good money and yet they still steal from others. Maybe it is just my misfortune living where I do. Anyway, the more people who read about these hero's the better. Maybe we can have an improved mindset where it matters. The next plane crash true story that I upload, is about a young man that dashed back to a burning plane, while everybody that was able were running away, knowing that the plane could explode any minuted. Why, he heard a baby crying. Yes, he dashed into the smoke filled and burning plane and saved the little ones life. Obviously there will be one or two incidents of this crash on the internet. I do not get my info from the internet, but from a very reliable source. My point is, I cannot change the facts, but the way I tell the story will be different.

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         Anita Haschposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Should read minute.

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   Kathleen Cochranposted 6 years ago

   A lot of my hubs required extensive research as opposed to opinion off the top of my head.  I had this same problem.  Sometimes I wrote HP and explained that I was citing my sources and they approved it.  Other times I had to paraphrase a quote, which I don't like doing.  But at the end of the hub, I'd list my sources.
   
   I always wondered if HP thought all the HOW TO hubs were full of information the hubbers just stored in their memory banks?  Good luck!

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      Anita Haschposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you Kathleen, how true that is.

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      CatherineGiordanoposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I once id a hub about quotations on a particular subjec. I got a duplicate content denial. I left the quotes but added a couple of hundred more words in the text (where I talked about why I liked these quotes). Then it was approved.So try adding more original text.
      
      If you are telling a personal story that you have already published elsewhere, I can't see why you would want to tell the same story twice. Try telling the story in a different way, take a new slant on it..

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   psycheskinnerposted 6 years ago

   The duplicate filter isn't detecting facts but sequences of words. So you are describing the facts in the same way that other sources describe them.

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      Sherry Hewinsposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      That's what I was just going to say. You can't change the facts, but you can state them differently.

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      Anita Haschposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you. I will try harder. As I said I did not even read about it on the internet. So I presume we both got our info from the same source. I did rewrite the whole story, however I can't change the date, maybe I could leave the date out, or the sequence in which the facts played itself out. As I said I will try a different approach but I can't change the facts.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         If you really want to tell the story and don't care whether anyone reads it, then go for it.  However, if you are getting duplicate content warnings then it has NOTHING to do with the fact that you're telling the same story.   
         
         It means you've got whole paragraphs of text that are identical, word for word, with text that's already on the internet.    So I think you should assume that your source is either getting their information from the internet, or someone else is using the same source to write articles.

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            Anita Haschposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            There was no whole paragraphs of text that was the same. The only part that was identical was the facts, which you can't change. It took me a long time to rewrite it. Thanks anyway.

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               melbelposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               Can you give us an example of one of these facts?

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               Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               You can't change the facts but you can say them in a different way. 
               
               The "duplicate content" flag is an automatic filter, and it won't trigger unless you have substantial sections of the  Hub which is word for word exactly the same as somewhere else. So you must have at least two long sentences together which are an exact copy.  Perhaps you've got a summary of the facts somewhere, where you've just stated them in short sentences?
               
               I know you can't change the facts, but you can change how you express them.   As Melbel says, can you give us an example of a section which you can't change?

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Yes...and this can be viewed as spinning content if not carefully done.

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         Anita Haschposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you TimeTraveler2. These hubs on plane crashes really interest me, so I am not spinning. I enjoy writing them and telling the stories of the hero's in them.

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   Matthew Hotalingposted 6 years ago

   Personally, I write a lot about Video Games and stuff like that. A lot of the info has been covered over multiple formats but its all about how you set up the article and how you state the information in the article. Even though you have issues with duplicate content, that stuff can be featured. I just published an article called "The Many Venomous Snakes in the Midwest". I know for a fact that there are multiple places to get the same information, because I got my info from those places! So, I recommend keep writing but put your own twist on it. Don't recite facts but find something personal about the history that you can relate to, that maybe someone else can relate too. Why it's important to know the facts. put quotes in quotes. Include a helpful video, or pictures that you have taken at the locations you are writing about. There are a lot of ways to make that information yours and not just a bunch of facts.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      This mostly is good advice but advising people to use quotes, not so much.  Too many quotes are grounds for duplicate content warnings.
      
      I'm betting that when you write, if your work is getting featured, your doing it mostly from a personal perspective.  For example, "Dangerous Western Snakes that I've Encountered During Road Trips" or something similar.
      
      Work is supposed to be totally original, as I'm sure you are aware.  Spinning information is chancy and often results in unfeaturing.
      
      If your stuff is working, you undoubtedly have got it right, but it still pays to be careful.

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         Anita Haschposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         I agree. But when you tell a story in your own perspective, it is original. The facts you cannot change because then it becomes fiction.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, but the trick is to tell the story without spinning the information.  Look at Melbel's example to see what I'm talking about.

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               psycheskinnerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               Spinning is when you change something word by word.  Rephrasing is when you read several sources, jot down only names, dates and other data, put the sources away and write the story in your own vernacular.
               
               The advice I give my students is that you can't plagiarized some you can't see, so put away the source material before you start to write.  None of them have managed to prove me wrong yet.

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                  Anita Haschposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                  Thank you. That is a good idea.

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         Matthew Hotalingposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Totally. I agree. However, I stay away from quotes but have read that if you are using a quote (i.e. by George Washington ) you would quote that, but I never use quotes so I really wouldn't know much about it. Spinning is definitely a bad practice, so I make sure all my work has a bit of "me" in it for sure. Thank you Time Traveler!

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      Anita Haschposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your advice Matthew.

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   melbelposted 6 years ago

   Put the hub into your own words. Yes, facts are facts, but they can be reworded and still be true.
   
   Fact: Leaves are green because they contain chlorophyll. When the chlorophyll is gone, leaves change color.
   
   Re-stated fact: Due to the chlorophyll in leaves, they appear green. However, leaves are made up of compounds of various colors. In the fall, when leaves no longer produce chlorophyll, the colors of the other compounds show more readily. This gives leaves their beautiful orange and red autumn hues.
   
   (This is just an example, I am not 100% on leaves. I'm a chemist/physicist, not a biologist!)
   
   Also, cite your sources. It makes you look like a pro!

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      Anita Haschposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you melbel, That is exactly what I did. I rewrote the complete story in my own words. Thanks for your advice.

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   Ryan Corneliusposted 6 years ago

   Marisa is right here. That is one thing I had to learn in bootcamp really fast

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