This is interesting because there's no copyright on ideas, and this example is a lot like what newspapers do every time they get a story from the news agency Reuters. Or indeed, from each other. The national press rewrite stories from the local press routinely. They do cite the source however, which is how I know.

Often when they rewrite it, it remains very similar in content to the Reuters report or the local story. They are using the same ideas, in the same order, often using the same quotes, although word for word quotes are always cited too.

To me, this is a rewrite. It is not a copy and paste. So there's no copyright infringement. But it is using the same ideas.

So where someone's definition of plagiarism is to use the same ideas, yes, it's obviously using the same ideas.

Does this mean people should never rewrite news stories though? I wrote about Putin and how cancer might be affecting his brain. Then I discovered that a news outlet had written something similar. I conclude I'm not alone in having the idea.

I occasionally relay news stories, adding my own nuance if I have one. I wouldn't worry too much about duplication of ideas.

Copy and pasting content is a different matter. That's what plagiarism used to mean and that's what has happened to my Medium articles, which have been copied and pasted onto other websites.

When your work is copied and pasted, that's really annoying! When people do a rewrite, it's definitely better to put their own slant on things and add their own ideas to the mix too. But I wouldn't kick them out for doing a rewrite.

Every time I write a history article, I'm relaying a story that someone else wrote first - unless I have an interviewee who remembers things, and that'd be an interview. But more usually, I'm looking at another article, or book, or something to find out the history of a place or person, because it doesn't change. I rewrite it. I guess sometimes I'll add a source. It depends on what it is.

I think perhaps it's time for Medium to review its definition of plagiarism and whether it's looking for copyright infringement or a broad definition of plagiarism which includes rewriting ideas.