A booklet published by Melania Trump’s new campaign for children’s online safety bears an uncanny resemblance to a document released under Barack Obama’s administration.
Donald Trump’s wife gave an opening night address at the Republican National Convention in 2016 that was partly plagiarised from a speech by then first lady Michelle Obama.
Melania’s initiative, Be Best, which launched on Monday, has a page on the official White House website that said near the bottom: “Parents, click here to read Talking with Kids about Being Online, a booklet by First Lady Melania Trump and the Federal Trade Commission.”
Later, in an apparent damage limitation exercise following a backlash on social media, the website’s language was updated to describe the pamphlet as “a Federal Trade Commission booklet, promoted by First Lady Melania Trump”.
Visitors who click on the link are taken to a pdf file of a booklet that is almost identical to one first published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2014 under the title: Net Cetera – Chatting with Kids About Being Online.