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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've seen some people argue that it's social media, and content gets "recycled" all the time, but I have a problem with this, especially when it's done by media organisations and people in media, people with influence.
We're in the content business, and good quality content is what sustains us, it's what keeps our audiences interested, it pays our bills. And so, when people use our content, without credit, that's literally taking food out of the mouths of content creators.
I run a news and content syndication business, Africa's largest, and I have the biggest newsroom of curators and photographers on the continent.
My team'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'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's happening in Africa, and it's so easy to fall victim to plagiarism.
We do our level best, and give credit and attribute where it'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.
We owe it to ourselves and our audiences to stand for what's right - even as content creators all around us are losing their jobs due to the economic effects the #Covid19 pandemic has had on media houses in particular.
I've apologised to him privately for not messaging him directly, but I will not apologise for taking this stance and calling out this behaviour.
Let's be better.
Let's be better.
