Popular news and entertainment site, Linda Ikeji Blog,
was taken down Wednesday by tech firm, Google, after
a row over the originality of the blog’s contents.
Linda Ikeji Blog, published on Google-owned Blogger,
has grown to become one of the most visited websites
in Nigeria.
The site mainly aggregates and republishes news
items and entertainment bits sourced from other
channels, although it occasionally publishes exclusive
contents.
Its publisher, Linda Ikeji, has emerged one of the most
successful online entrepreneurs in Nigeria and has
been rated amongst Nigeria’s most influential young
women.
Lately, the site has been hit by multiple allegations of
plagiarism with critics allegedly prodding Google to
suspend the blog. The tech firm disallows plagiarism
on its platforms.
Ms. Ikeji denies lifting materials without proper
attribution.
On Tuesday, Ms. Ikeji said the site came under attack
by her competitors driven by envy over her success.
The claims followed allegations of plagiarism by the
publisher of another blog, 15Past8, known by the
name Aye Dee. Details of the controversial work are not
clear.
But on Tuesday, Ms. Ikeji dismissed the allegation in
an article, saying she cited sources in all published
materials.
Ms. Ikeji said Mr. Dee and other tech-savvy publishers
were out to have her website suspended by Google,
angered by her success and her recent acquisition of a
N24million SUV.
Ms. Ikeji did not respond to our inquiries Wednesday.
She however told her readers via her twitter handle @
lindaikeji: “Linda Ikeji Blog will be back in a bit…biko
bear with me…:-)”.
Google could not be immediately reached also. An
official who responded to our call denied knowledge of
the suspension of the website.
