Twitter/X quietly adds official support for content theft

[Dan Robinson]

Twitter/X added a posting option some time ago that makes content theft for profit an officially-supported function of the platform. This function allows accounts to repost (embed) videos from other accounts as *native* reposts that are indistinguishable from a traditional download/native reupload.

The most shocking and egregious part of this function is that the revenue earned on a video reposted this way *all* goes to the reposting account, with *zero* shared with the original poster.

This was confirmed in the following:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1986073264876392835

Furthermore, the engagement on the repost (views, retweets, replies) all goes to the reposting account, meaning the original account gets none of the engagement metrics that are used to qualify for monetization.

This goes far beyond the worst TOS rights grabs any platform has ever tried to institute, yet has quietly been enacted without the user base’s knowledge.

 

[Randy Jennings]

Thanks for brining this to our attention. I saw your original posts/questions to grok on X and was shocked that they had added the ability to post someone else's video without even having to download and reupload it. I was also shocked (but not really surprised) that they only share revenue wen premium accounts look at content (despite them making add money when free users look at content). The other thing that surprised me was the difference between a repost and a quote repost in that all revenue from the quote view goes to the quoter. I didn't realize if I quoted something and made some trivial comment that I was taking revenue away from the original poster.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Thanks Randy, wow, I was not aware of the quoted post diversions, that is beyond the pale.

 

[James K]

I read the title ... thinking oh good they added an official way to help stop/block content theft!

Then actually reading your post. All I can say is: um. wow. what a horrible addition!
The 2 big questions that come to mind are:
Why is anyone still posting anything on there?
Why aren't the big media companies & such all up in arms about this? (they are afterall the only ones who could force change, since as we all know twitter/x could care less about their many smaller users)

 

[Warren Faidley]

I'm hoping AI totally destroys the entire social media footage and still image markets. I've invested heavily in AI computing, so I'm going to do my part. Social media is basically a socialized, criminal form of business. The peons do the bulk of work while the upper level few enjoy all the benefits. This is the greatest ripoff in the history of creative pursuits, including photography and cinematography. To think some of the people who worked their way to the top of the pile did so by "fake it until you make it" tactics, and now profit from other chasers work is nauseating. More so, they would care less. They will re-post (package) other chasers clips (as Dan noted above), then complain like hell when someone uses their footage without permission. It's basically the same form of abuse.

 

[William Monfredo]

Both interesting and disappointing to see how far we've come and gone in the video and information age.
Earlier this year, I realized that 40 years had passed since the first video of a tornado, an F-5 on May 31, 1985 in Wheatland, PA.
In a very general sense, if something becomes too popular, it seems to get ruined. I suppose one has to figure out what's the next new thing.

 

[Andy Wehrle]

Both interesting and disappointing to see how far we've come and gone in the video and information age.
Earlier this year, I realized that 40 years had passed since the first video of a tornado, an F-5 on May 31, 1985 in Wheatland, PA.
In a very general sense, if something becomes too popular, it seems to get ruined. I suppose one has to figure out what's the next new thing.

OT, but there were tornado videos (as opposed to motion pictures shot on film) at least as early as 1981; the well-known NSSL chase team "sound package" video. Perhaps you meant to describe the first known home video of a tornado?

Home video as a medium was introduced in the U.S. in 1975-'76 in the form of Betamax and VHS, respectively. However, the first "portable" units weren't introduced for a few more years, and they were heavy, clunky two-piece affairs with separate cameras. Most chasers probably found it easier to continue using motion-picture film, and at the time it still generally yielded better quality. The first one-piece "camcorders" weren't introduced until 1983 (Betamax) and '84 (VHS), so 1985 seems about the right time for the first tornado home video to emerge.

On topic, I'm glad I never got too vested in Twitter. Current ownership aside, I closed my account several years before that because I simply didn't find it useful.