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Yesterday, I called out a friend for reposting content on his Insta without crediting the source. This is something that has really gotten my goat recently... a thread.
I& #39;ve seen some people argue that it& #39;s social media, and content gets "recycled" all the time, but I have a problem with this, especially when it& #39;s done by media organisations and people in media, people with influence.
We& #39;re in the content business, and good quality content is what sustains us, it& #39;s what keeps our audiences interested, it pays our bills. And so, when people use our content, without credit, that& #39;s literally taking food out of the mouths of content creators.
I run a news and content syndication business, Africa& #39;s largest, and I have the biggest newsroom of curators and photographers on the continent.
My team& #39;s pictures sometimes get used without permission, without credit, and without so much as a passing attempt to determine the source, and this by "credible" media organisations.
We are constantly scouring the internet to be sure that our content - that some of my people risk their lives to get - is at least credited, if not paid for (because that, after all is my business model).
So when I see media people I know and respect, who really should know better about at least trying to credit the original source of great content, it pains my heart.
Part of my business is curation - it& #39;s so hard to dance along the line of aggregation, and not overstep it, in our efforts to bring our clients and audiences a comprehensive, cogent picture of what& #39;s happening in Africa, and it& #39;s so easy to fall victim to plagiarism.
We do our level best, and give credit and attribute where it& #39;s due. As media people, as people with influence, we have the resources to figure it out and be better about raising up content creators, especially those from our community who are struggling.
