Social media has played a huge role in bringing the paranormal community together. It’s amazing. Sharing images with discussion questions is also pretty dang popular now.
However, most of the images you’re seeing are being shared without the creator’s permission. This is problematic. It’s more than problematic. It’s illegal. Yes, that’s right. It’s illegal to share someone else’s artwork without their permission, credit, or reimbursement.
This is an ongoing issue for photographers, artists, and creators. But, now it’s easier than ever to file a copyright claim on social media. This means that not only will social media venues like Facebook will take the artwork down, but they will ding the user, group, or page that shares the content. There’s no way you’re going to appeal this.
This has happened to me numerous times between my work with The Spooky Stuff, and my team, Association of Paranormal Study. Chances are, you’ve seen one of my images shared by someone else.
What is Copyright Infringement?
I don’t want to dive too deep into the legalese of copyright infringement since it can get confusing. Basically, if you see an image or artwork you like, and you repost it to your social media page or website, you could get in trouble if you don’t have permission from the owner. Any artwork you design, or photos that you take yourself, belongs to YOU. If you see that someone is sharing your image or using your image without your permission, you can report them, take them to court, and even sue them.
As a blogger and content creator myself, I have to be super careful with this because, well, I can get sued. I have subscriptions to Canva and Shutterstock so I can use the images you see legally. Also, I’ve used Flickr as another source for images, and I have to read the copyright ownership terms very carefully. I didn’t always use to do this, and now that I’m more aware, I’m going through my websites and social media accounts to fix it.
How it Affects the Paranormal Community
A lot of paranormal teams on Facebook are posting images created by other teams and individuals without credit. Or worse, they will remove the team’s watermark and logo and repost. Paranormal community, stop this. It’s not okay.
Creators have been accused of being selfish and creating bad morale for reporting their art as stolen, and that’s not fair. Paranormal pages and groups that are sharing this content without permission, let alone crediting the artist, are building their platform on the hard work of others. It’s the same as stealing someone else’s work and crediting it as your own. You would get a failing grade in school, and you would be penalized if this was higher education. You would lose your job if you were working for a publication.
Sharing content without crediting the artist, team, or creator creates bad morale in the paranormal community. Not only that, it is hurtful.
When I asked one team why they removed my logo and watermark, it was because they thought *I* lifted the image and slapped on my logo. It’s a sad state of affairs when people do that and they think it’s okay. By the way, removing someone else’s logo/watermark and replacing it with your own is super illegal.
Consequences of Copyright Infringement
There is a movement where creators are now reporting these posts as stolen and copyright infringement. And they’re winning, as they should. The creator has receipts and can prove whether or not these images belong to them. Facebook is one of the major platforms that will immediately side with creators, and Instagram is owned by them.
On Facebook, if your page or group gets hit with too many copyright violations, it will be removed. End of story. Is it worth potentially losing your platform over something preventable like copyright infringement?
Creators such as myself now include tags and our logos in our images. If a page just reposts it without tagging, it’s not enough. There needs to be a tag, a name, or something. A simple, “Thanks to ___________ for creating this image! Be sure to check them out and like their page for more” is enough for a lot of creators. I don’t want to speak for all creators, so you need to check in with them.
What Needs to Be Done
I can’t speak for all creators, but for me, I’m totally fine with you reposting my images and art as long as you tag my page in the original post. Not every creator is okay with this though, just to warn you.
Believe it or not, this simple request has resulted in me being ignored or even blocked. Or, the team, page, or group will just delete the image. Tagging and giving credit is such a simple fix, and the fact that this is such a huge issue is mindblowing.
“Everyone else is doing it” isn’t a valid excuse either.
What If I Don’t Care If People Share My Work?
That’s fine. Move on. But, there are creators who do care, and they’re getting pressured to stay quiet for the sake of “para unity.” Just because a photographer shoots weddings for free doesn’t mean every photographer has to follow suit.
Honestly, you should care because you put in the work. If these pages and groups are getting new likes, followers, and members because of YOUR work, you should absolutely be able to enjoy those same benefits and grow your platform.
“Para unity” doesn’t mean that people should shut up and just accept it. Especially when giving credit takes just a few seconds. Literally, a few seconds. It’s an easy fix.
If someone puts in the work, and you think it’s great enough to share it, then credit the person in the post. Tag their page. Direct your followers to show them some para-love.
What If There’s No Watermark or Logo?
Share at your own risk. There are millions, if not billions, of memes and images that don’t have a logo, tag, or watermark. I’ve shared that content after making sure I couldn’t find the original artist. Google image search is great for this, by the way. Memes are harder to prove ownership if that makes sense.
I’m not perfect, and this has gotten me in trouble. Luckily, the creators were more than cool with the snafu after I apologized and asked them what I can do to make it right. Usually, this means a reshare of the original image or just a tag in the caption.
If the creator does approach you and says, “Hey I made this image” and they ask you to either credit them, link their page, remove it, etc., just do it. You don’t want to potentially find yourself in court, or lose your group or page due to a copyright violation.
What Can I Do as a Member of the Paranormal Community?
If you see an image shared by a page or group, and you like it, look for the watermark, logo, or tag. If it’s not there, ask who made the image. That holds the page accountable. Credit as much as you can. Let’s support each other!
I tag all of my photos with @thespookystuff or APS with @parastudync so people can type it in the search bar on Facebook. Look for that group or artist and like/follow them. Or, tag them in the comments of the shared image. Not only will you alert them that someone is using their content, but you’ll give a shoutout to the original artist and bring it to people’s attention. Or, even contact the creator and ask them to send you the link to the original post so you can share it from the creator instead of the page or group that lifted the image in the first place.
Please don’t reshare knowingly stolen content either. Or, at the very least, tag the creator in the caption when you share. If this is on Instagram, then type, “Repost: @(username).” It makes a big difference.
