Blogging and plagiarism. I’m a part of several blogging groups and see questions all the time with regards to quoting other bloggers or using photographs that are found on Pinterest or even other sites. I remember when I was in school, plagiarism was always a hot topic and the rules were hammered into us incessantly. So you can imagine my shock and surprise when I woke up last week to discover that someone had scraped my entire blog and put it on their site. If that wasn’t enough, a few days later I got a ping back on my site only to discover that someone had used one of my photographs on their site. So I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to go over what is allowed and what isn’t.
BLOGGING AND PLAGIARISM
Text. If you are going to use a part of someone’s text, you need to give it appropriate quotations and the right link. It doesn’t matter if you are using a small paragraph or a full text. If you don’t give the appropriate source it’s plagiarism. My case is a little bit different because someone scraped my entire site and basically re-branded it on their page. I have no idea what they were thinking or what they hoped to accomplish. Luckily as a content creator, you have the law on your hands and there is a lot you can do. Just remember, that while it is tempting to reach out in a semi-abusive way, don’t. Keep it professional because if this does lead to working with lawyers then you will want to appear as professional as possible. Kick wall and tear your hair out in the privacy of your own home.
Photographs. This is perhaps the most common form of plagiarism in fashion/beauty blogs. It’s actually pretty simple. Unless you have explicit (written) permission to use a photograph or unless you have purchased the photograph or are taking it from a creative commons site (and abiding by its rules), then you are breaking the law. It’s really that simple. It doesn’t matter if you credit the source, if you don’t have permission, don’t do it. I recently found one of my photographs on a blog. They had linked to my site (which is how I found it), but they hadn’t asked permission or credited me. Now, this is a pretty big site with a lot of traffic and staff. I wrote them an official email requesting that they credit me appropriately, pay me or remove the photo. This kind of thing happens all the time, but the thing to remember is that you have rights if this happens to you. Equally importantly, you shouldn’t be taking other people’s work.
Ideas. So you might be shocked to find out that even ideas can be considered to be plagiarism. This might be harder to prove and when you think about it, many of us bloggers write on similar topics. So really, the best policy is to ensure that your words and ideas are your own. You have a unique perspective and that’s why people read your blog anyway, so in the end, you are benefiting even more by staying true to yourself.
This is just a very basic overview and there is a lot of legal details surrounding plagiarism. If you aren’t sure about something, it’s best to ask or to stick with your own material, otherwise you could be in a world of trouble. Companies do come down hard on plagiarism. The absolute best thing you can do is to find your voice and use it proudly. Read this if you need some tips on: How To Come Up With The Best Blog Posts.
For more don’t forget to follow me on INSTAGRAM and BLOGLOVIN
IF YOU ENJOYED THIS ARTICLE PLEASE SHARE IT AND SIGN UP FOR REGULAR UPDATES
images courtesy of DollarPhotoClub
- Behind The Scenes With A Book Editor - June 3, 2022
- Books That Read Like Poetry - September 2, 2021
- When You Want A Peek Into Someone’s Life - July 19, 2021
7 Comments
Having your pics stolen is the worst 🙁
It is! I had someone scrape my entire site and replicate it…..
xo
I find it hard to believe someone would do this without giving proper credit and even asking for permission. People need to read up on plagiarism. They can get into alot of trouble and expense. Thank you so much for sharing
Oh it happens on the internet all the time unfortunately. People just don’t get it and it’s really disappointing.
xo
Thanks for sharing your insights on this topic, Caroline… Sorry to hear that happened to you and I understand how frustating it can be, putting a lot of work on something and creating these ideas and not getting credit for re-posting. Hope the issue was addressed and it worked out.
After a lot of grief it did! Of course this same person is doing it to someone else now but luckily for me my photographs and posts were removed.
xo
UGH, thank you for this! Some content creators just simply don’t understand the notion that plagiarism is stealing. Plain and simple. Great article! 🙂
xo,
Stephanie
Diary of a Debutante
http://www.thediaryofadebutante.com