A Quebec author maintains that the star historian Laurent Turcot would have plagiarized his long-term work on the Spanish flu, without giving him any credit.
“I found it quite shocking that he said, word for word, my sentences without giving the reference to my book. He took over three years of my work without crediting me, ”denounces Monique Tremblay Giroux, amateur historian from Chesterville in Centre-du-Québec.
THE that Laurent Turcot notably copied several extracts from one of his articles on the Spanish flu.
He indeed posted a video in 2020 named on his popular YouTube channel which has nearly 445,000 subscribers. In it, we hear the historian say almost identical passages to an article by Mrs. Tremblay Giroux published in 2018.
• Read also: Laurent Turcot: new allegations of plagiarism in his capsules on YouTube and Radio-Canada
Here is one of the identified examples:
Extract 1:
Words from Laurent Turcot:
“In Victoriaville, 2.1% of the population perished between August 1 and December 31, 1918; imagine, a city of 40,000 inhabitants losing 840 of its citizens in ten weeks!”.
Article by Monique T. Giroux, “» :
“2.1% of the population of Victoriaville and Arthabaska died between August 1 and December 31, 1918. […] imagine a city of 40,000 inhabitants losing 840 of its citizens in ten weeks!”
He appropriates the work of a woman
Monique Tremblay Giroux admits to being surprised to see such a popular man in the media appropriating her work, he who is also a professor at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR).
“The fact that I am not known and that I am retired, it may be easier to resume my texts without crediting me, she notes. If I had had a public reputation, it is sure that he would have reacted differently.
The author first wrote a book called “The Versions of the Truth” to tell, among other things, that the origin of the Spanish flu in North America was in Victoriaville. She then published several articles on the subject, including one that was allegedly plagiarized by Laurent Turcot.
“If he had at least cited me as a reference, it would give me recognition and publicity for my work. I’m not asking for money. […] I spent years documenting myself and I even traveled to 46 parishes in Quebec to list 1,489 names of people who died during this period,” explains the amateur historian.
An “omission”
The history professor at UQTR mentions that it is a simple “involuntary omission”. Note that the credit was given to the author after Laurent Turcot was contacted by the Log on this subject.
“The capsule had been written by a valuable collaborator. When transcribing the file on YouTube, the reference seems not to have followed”, explains the historian in an email.
Photo taken from Laurent Turcot’s Facebook
Portrait of Laurent Turcot with an award obtained from YouTube upon reaching over 100,000 subscribers. It is on this channel, called “History will tell us”, that the historian broadcast content that would have been plagiarized.
This case, however, is not unique. Mr. Turcot would also have replied to the French subtitles of a video broadcast on TED-Ed in connection with the history of tattoos, last week.
In addition to these recent allegations, the Log had revealed in April 2022 that the professor was under investigation for at least in his book named “Sport and Recreation: A History from the Origins to the Present”.
“In principle, a credible historian puts his sources. He’s not a hobbyist. He has his diplomas and teaches at the university. It’s the first time it’s happened to me, ”drops Monique Tremblay Giroux.
Turcot reported to UNEQ
The Union of Quebec Writers (UNEQ) mentions that it “takes questions of plagiarism very seriously”.
“We are in contact with Mrs. Tremblay-Giroux in order to accompany her as best as possible and to study the steps that could be taken”, confirms in an email the UNEQ.
Other examples of alleged plagiarism in Mr. Turcot’s videos.
Extract 2:
Words from Laurent Turcot:
“All things considered, the people of Victoriaville have to deplore twice as many deaths as those of Montreal and Quebec. It is even worse in some villages. In Laurierville, 8% of the population is decimated! The township of Inverness quadruples its death rate!”
Article by Monique T. Giroux, “» :
“All things considered, the people of Victoriaville and Arthabaska have to deplore twice as many deaths as those of Montreal and Quebec (…) Saint-Louis-de-Blandford and Sainte-Élisabeth-de-Warwick have tripled theirs and Inverness nearly quadrupled his! In Laurierville, nearly 8% of the population is decimated.
Extract 3
Words from Laurent Turcot:
“This disaster demonstrated the need to organize to be able to deal with other scourges of the kind (…) It was at the origin of the creation of the Bureau municipal de Santé de Montréal in 1918, as well as the Asbestos hospital and the Federal Ministry of Health which came into operation in 1919”.
Article by Monique T. Giroux, “» :
“This disaster demonstrated the need to organize to be able to deal with other such scourges. She was at the origin of the creation of the Bureau municipal de Santé de Montréal in 1918, as well as the Asbestos hospital and the Federal Ministry of Health, which came into operation in 1919”.