In common usage the word “copy” means to replicate something. However in journalism it also refers to the main text of an article. Perhaps we can see the double meaning here…

Back in September this blog mentioned an error by the Washington Times in describing the Semipalatinsk Test Site as a vast region the size of Belgium, even though it is only 60% of Belgium’s size.

Now an item by Public Radio International makes the same curious mistake.  “They called this place, a vast testing site the size of Belgium, the Polygon.”

It seems odd that two journalists would independently make the same mistake.