The power of networks, part 1382.2c

Posted on August 8, 2006
Filed Under Blogs, Social Media |

Two seemingly unconnected events caught my attention over the last week and it was only this morning that I put them together. The first is the now well covered Photo’chopped photos that Reuters carried and then retracted, and the second was the less known case of Kevin Corazza v. Kris Krug.

In the first case, a blogger uncovered a case of photo fraud at the news agency and the subsequent uproar from the blogosphere forced Reuters to withdraw all 920 images from the freelance photographer in question, although I would hope it was less about the uproar and more about restoring the integrity of Reuters’ brand. At any rate, score one more for the blogosphere.

In the second case a popular Flickr photographer, Kris Krug, accused Kevin Corazza of inappropriately claiming Kris’ work as his own (keep in mind that the images in question were offered under Creative Commons so it’s not like there are any monetary damages being claimed, it’s about being honest). Corazza then sues Krug for defamation, and this is where it gets interesting. The subsequent comment thread attached to the attorney letter that Krug posted includes individuals who have identified additional cases of images being inappropriately claimed by Corazza as his own.

Whether or not Corazza is guilty of these offenses is unknown, but the evidence is stacking up against him pretty quick. Thomas Hawk does a great job of detailing the reputation issues in his post on the subject. The loosely coupled community around Krug did the investigative work for him and identified offenses that previously would have gone unknown, and then there is the whole issue of Corazza’s reputation and the damage done to him (by himself apparently).

“I think I found some pretty good evidence of another plagiarism look here at a screen-shot of the guys flash page trogdoor.googlepages.com/Picture1.png ( I can’t give a link because of poor use of flash ) now look at the same photo found on flickr www.flickr.com/photos/stitch/49206156/ notice that this is “Kevin’s’” only photo with the Fuji at the top and bottom yet all of Stitche’s flicker photos have it ( from scanning in actual film? ).”
Now back to the Reuters topic, it occurred to me that the best thing that Reuters could have done in this instance was to open up their entire photo archive to scrutiny from bloggers and other photo professionals. It’s no longer enough for Reuters or anyone else to simply say “trust us” in an age where photographic evidence is less than absolute. We have all grown up in an age where photos can be cooked and reality (film, not just photos) can be created. Reputation is now the linchpin for credibility, not just a catchy photo, and reputation has to withstand peer scrutiny and review if it is to be legitimate.

My prediction is that reputation systems of all kinds will increasingly become a focus for anything in the public view, and they will rely on techniques that capture the power of community to derive trust rather than a brand manufacturing it.

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