RED FLAG : "5 years addicted to heroin - my story told in pictures" - From Article Written in January
Fellow Steemit Users.
Please demand verification from new users posting emotional stories to garner rewards from the system. These stories are meant to tug at your heart and make you feel bad if you even so much as think to question their authenticity.
But red flags should go off when you see professional quality images of a person shooting up heroin. Heroin addicts do not customarily have professional photographers following them around while they shoot up and perform at a strip club.
All of the images and information provided in this heart felt story are taken from an article written in January 2016 which can be found here ... http://www.refinery29.com/2016/01/100045/sara-naomi-lewkowicz-photo-series-woman-heroin-addict#slide. No new information or images are provided. The story is simply changed a little to come from a first person perspective. The Steem Community is being played.
Please do a web search for images and text used in stories coming from new users, especially stories that tug on your emotional response system. This is how scammers work and it works well. There is only so much money to give out each day and personally I would rather see it go to legitimate post and legitimate people who take time out of their own day to provide us with quality original content.
Rewarding scammers who copy and paste a journalist work not only hurts other Steemit users by reducing daily rewards, but it takes advantage of the journalist hard work by allowing the scammer to make money off of their labor, as well as the poor girl in the story.
Update
User @beowulfoflegend and his keen eye also points this out ...
Alex's story of overcoming addiction is absolutely amazing, but I agree with @adm - something is a tiny bit fishy. Not doubting, but I'd like some verification too.
The thing that throws me off? Alex says she's from Baltimore, which leads me to believe that she grew up there. Yet this post uses a couple of European writing conventions that Americans typically wouldn't:
"2,5 years" instead of 2.5 years
"resocialise" instead of resocialize
I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt, but at the same time it's unfair to profit off of someone else's story.
If you upvoted the post (linked below), please consider removing your upvote until OP post verification, which is unlikely.
Post in question: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@alexica/5-years-addicted-to-heroin-my-story-told-in-pictures
This immediately set red flags off for me when I read the accompanying story. As I mentioned in the original thread, the poster used European-style English idioms while claiming to be born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland.
That, in addition to the points you brought up, reinforces the idea that someone's trying to play us. Not only that, but it marginalizes the real struggles of those overcoming addiction.
my thoughts exactly
great catch!
She got my down vote. She didn't respond to @tuckfheman asking her to verify who she was. I hope people will remove their upvote.
All $5K were removed.
Do you know how the remove process work?
Ya, whales downvoted or removed their upvotes.
Steemit needs more people like you watching out for scammers. Thanks for the hard work. I'll try to stay sharp as well.
From now on, you will be known as The Debunker.
;)
I just want to say good catch tuck thank you for this one I believe this was an excellent eye opener.
what a sick manipulation of good peoples emotions i hope they get their just deserts
Yeah, i dind't upvote her story cause the pictures looked very proffesional, like there was a photographer with her at those times. I didn'twant to question because you get bashed
Good detective work. Busted!!
Also, thats not a heroin needle. Its a sub-q needle like for insulin and stuff heroin is too thick to shoot with a needle like that
Interesting, thanks for the info!
Just wanted to say hi tuck, 38ptsw .
Good work!
sup Martin!
Oh wow. I actually read that story earlier on steemit, and believed it
Me too. I'm going back to find it and remove my vote now.
BRAVO TEAM, SUPER DUPER!