The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork.
The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.
[3] On July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution.
[8] Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that "historical facts are not copyrightable.
"[9] In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, "Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.