Some abuse I’ve received from @austdisability - after I spoke up b/c Jonathan Shar & team have stolen writing of many - inc disabled writers like @chlosarge & @ellenffb - for their site. When other disabled people like @jeshyr @stefinitely85 spoke up, Aus Disability abused them.

This is not a pile on. And I don’t encourage it. But I will not stand for abuse within Disability community, nor theft of writers’ work.

Polite requests from writers to remove their content from @AustDisability’s website have been met with rudeness, defensiveness and unwillingness to heed copyright law.

AustDisability has claimed not to want to support copyright law, and lashed out at a number of disabled writers for making money from writing.

Some disabled people need to do better at following rules, receiving and responding to feedback and admitting mistakes. Sometimes the behaviour of @AustDisability, & others, is excused due to their disability. But this lowers expectations and equality for disabled people.

Yes there are other things to fight for. But pay, and copyright, and ownership of information is important. Just because you have a website and are a charity doesn’t mean you’re above copyright law.

Ways to amplify and support disabled writers:
Link to original work.
Quote small amounts of original work.
Share it via your platforms.
Pay people to write for your website.
Buy our books.
Pay us via PayPal and Patreon etc.
Commission us.
Consult with us
Don’t steal content.

In the 11 years I’ve been writing publicly and professionally My writing has been stolen (reproduced on other websites) a number of times. Here’s a response from 2015. https://carlyfindlay.com.au/2015/03/05/encountering-plagiarism-of-my-own-work/

Mostly it’s been stolen by disability orgs - wanting to give the content a better reach. No. Writing for a news site is the reach I want. The reach we want. The reach we’ve worked hard for.
Disabled writers deserve to be published by mainstream media.

Independent media is valuable and I support it. But it shouldn’t exist at the expense of not paying/thieving from writers.

Here’s some useful info on copyright law for social media and websites: https://www.latrobe.edu.au/library/about/copyright-hub/social-media

And on the topic of me making money. Yep. I am proud of working, of earning money to live the life I do. I support all disabled people in making money from working, but also support their decisions not to, too.

But I want to see the unemployment rate and poverty rate lower.
Repeat after me:
It is ok for disabled people to make money.
We shouldn’t be shamed for it.
This lateral violence about me making money as a writer has gone on for years, btw.

Thank you to the disabled writers and allies who have spoken up about this. It’s tiring. Again, it’s not a pile on. But I am exhausted from the constant fb abuse myself and others receiving within the disability community. It has to stop.

This is the abuse @austdisability threw at @ellenffb https://twitter.com/ellenffb/status/1310494113662341122

This is @ellenffb’s amazing @abclifeau article - read it, share it, learn from it, don’t plagiarise it.

http://amp.abc.net.au/article/life/12525078

And here is @chlosarge’s website filled with her writing https://www.chloesargeant.com/about 

Mostly the abuse by @austDisability has been at women.

Finally, I ask that you do not pile on any party involved. It’s important we discuss these issues, but we need to do so kindly and constructively. Thank you.

An apology from AustDisability is here. https://twitter.com/austdisability/status/1310531819096293377

Coming back here to say, there are a number of people siding with AustDisability. Bear in mind some of these people have bullied me for years. Claimed I’m faking my race and disability. Blamed me for someone else’s medical incident. Said I can’t make money from my work.

Please know that some of this attack - towards me especially - is ongoing, calculated and gaslighting. Some of AustDisability’s words read from the playbook of the bullies. So be careful who you defend.