Does Re-posting My Content (About Plagiarism) Make Me Unethical (Or Just Plain Lazy)?

In my second Steemit post, I was called out by @cheetah who had "found similar content that readers might be interested in..." I'm sure I'm not the only newbie to have felt the sting of being called out for snagging existing content, especially when you're the original author. Fair enough, I understand why these bots exist on platforms like Steemit. They're a necessary (and profitable) evil to identify plagiarism within online publishing community.

As I'm writing this, I already know this bot will have upvoted and commented on this post because I'm totally re-posting an existing piece I wrote on my LinkedIn earlier this year. You guessed it. It was about boosting someone else's content. It's an issue near and dear to every writer or editor I know. 

The online publishing industry is massive. It's also rife with plagiarism. And it's disgusting.

Imagine coming across an online article, essay or blog that seemingly reads identical to one you previously published, only to find it’s been “freshened up” and attributed to someone else. No mention of your name as a contributing author or “with files from”. Just like that. Your work. Your words. Stolen. What would you do? What could you do?

Copying another writer’s work IS plagiarism, regardless of who owns the original content.Online content theft is a growing concern among writers and content specialists who seem to have little-to-no recourse once their work becomes the property of a past or present employer. Unless stipulated in a contract, most employers legally own all rights over work/s created during a writer’s employment. However, content managers should never encourage or enable plagiarism by directing staff to update or alter previously published works written by other writers, and republish said pieces under the guise of whoever pressed “save” and “post”. It’s wrong and speaks volumes about the type of content companies are “creating” to represent their brand. Either attribute all contributors or create an entirely new piece. It’s the ethical and professional thing to do.

Who oversees online content is clean AND not stolen from another source?

While the argument can be made that QA or quality assurance maintains the responsibilities of a copy editor by ensuring copy is clean and error-free, QA rarely touches on who should be credited for republished work.The role and responsibilities of a copy editor or senior editor is not as important in the corporate world of online content publishing as it is in media and journalism. But it should be. Content approval is sometimes given (or needed) by a sales or marketing department more concerned with how clients or partners are represented, than where copy originated or who wrote it. Author attribution is even less of a concern for companies who are new to creating and growing their online content through trial and error. Make no mistake, for true wordsmiths, there is no greater error than plagiarism.

Content Managers, Don’t Encourage Plagiarism

Content managers should recognize the significance of an editor. Editors are integral to newspapers, magazines and media outlets because they question facts, confirm sources, catch grammar and style errors, suss out legalities of copy including images and trademarks, and credit the appropriate writers.

After all, who openly supports plagiarism? Certainly not the original authors, copy writers, and content specialists of published articles or blogs. While companies employ content writing teams or third-party providers to fill their corporate branding needs, they should not be encouraging the boosting of another writer’s original content.

Content managers, don’t make lifting copy the norm for your team. Your writers, past and present, deserve to have their work protected, otherwise you are cultivating a culture where stealing content is permitted. More than that, you’re compromising your company’s integrity and reputation. The writing community is smaller than you think. Theft is theft. 

Thanks for taking the time to read my two cents. Do drop me a line to share your thoughts or simply to say hello.

Cheers,

K