Prominent CNN host Fareed Zakariais under fire and stands accused of giving identical commencement speeches at both Harvard University and Duke University.
“I spoke to him while he was here,” a Duke employee told the Boston Globe, “and I got the strong impression from him that his Harvard speech would be a different presentation. Oh, well, at least Duke got it first.”
Zakaria started both speeches with an anecdote about missing his own college graduation. In both talks, he discussed cellphones and referenced American humorist Art Buchanwald.
Zakaria said an apology is unnecessary.
“I don’t see how I could have come up with two completely different speeches without giving one group a second-rate talk," he told the Boston Globe. "I’d rather come up with the same important message I think they need to hear.”
New York magazine said Duke was Zakaria's "safety school" this year and said he jumped ship when a "real Ivy" came knocking.
Zakaria is a big draw on the commencement circuit. Some have noted similarities in the speeches he gave at Brown in 2009, Yale in 2007 and Johns Hopkins in 2011.
Check out both speeches. Can you tell the difference?
HARVARD:
DUKE