Plagiarism and Generative AI

All manuscripts submitted to or published in Al-Turath Journal of Media Studies (ATJMS) may be screened using the plagiarism-detection software Turnitin. Plagiarism constitutes a serious violation of publication ethics. Other forms of misconduct include duplicate or redundant publication, data fabrication or falsification, improper attribution of authorship, unattributed translation, and the submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are also considered unethical and unacceptable.

The overall similarity index must not exceed 20%. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts remain within this limit throughout the editorial, peer-review, and publication processes. Similarity reports are assessed qualitatively as well as quantitatively; therefore, meeting the numerical limit does not automatically establish that a manuscript is original or ethically acceptable. The proportion of content identified as generated by artificial intelligence must be less than 5%.

All new submissions to ATJMS are screened using Turnitin. The Editorial Board may conduct additional originality checks at any stage of the review process or after publication if concerns arise.

A similarity report indicates the proportion of text that overlaps with one or more existing sources. Figures and equations may not be included in the screening results. A high similarity score does not necessarily establish plagiarism, because the overlap may arise from one source or from small matches across numerous sources. Properly quoted and cited material, references, standard terminology, and methodological descriptions may also contribute to the score. Consequently, editors assess the location, source, nature, and extent of each match before making a decision.

Editorial expertise and careful human assessment are essential when interpreting similarity and artificial-intelligence detection reports. Such reports are used as screening indicators and are not treated as conclusive evidence of misconduct. Manuscripts that violate this policy may be returned for revision, rejected, withdrawn, or—if already published—investigated under the journal’s corrections and retraction policy.