Wikipedia talk:Images from social media, or elsewhere

Linking an uploader to an author

I understand that the author of a picture published in Instagram, for example, has to upload the image themselves to Commons because "the act of uploading the images creates a record of [the author] stating [their] permission for their reuse". However, how can we be sure that the uploader is in fact the author of the picture? Imagine the following scenario:

Author A publishes a picture they have taken on Instagram. Author B uploads the image to Commons using agreeing to release it with a CC license. User C reuses the image on Commons to create some derivative work. Finally, Author A changes their mind, claiming that they never uploaded their work to Commons, and sues User C for having unauthorizedly used their work.

What would happen in a case like this? I'm helping some people upload to Commons some pictures they've taken (and uploaded elsewhere), and I want to make sure we won't have problems in the future proving that the uploader was in fact the original creator.

Thanks! --Diegodlh (talk) 23:20, 3 May 2022 (UTC)

You ask Author B to post on Instagram after they uploaded the image, to confirm that they have done so. Or, if you prefer, you ask them to email the VRT. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 17:11, 27 December 2023 (UTC)

Updates for specific social media platforms

I found this essay just now while seeing if Wikipedia had anything I could give to a user who seemed to be trying to copy an artist's Facebook images to Commons, but the essay's isn't really giving a clear throughline of actions for that situation.

The platform list at Wikipedia:A picture of you looks like it would only need minor edits to be applied here, rewording the references to selfies and generally going more past-tense if the context is "someone saw your photo which you have already posted".

Is it worth copying that across? Belbury (talk) 19:07, 11 September 2024 (UTC)

Thank you for updating the Wikipedia:A picture of you essay, @Belbury! I agree that copying the platform list here would be worth it. Actually, maybe even moving it over here (and link from there), to avoid having to maintain two separate copies of it, given that "a picture of you on social media" is just a specific example of the more general case of "images from social media" treated here. What do you think?

Also, having these guidelines in Wikimedia Commons (instead of English Wikipedia) would be even more relevant, I believe. Since deciding what's OK and what's not on Wikimedia Commons should be decided by the Wikimedia Commons community, rather than the English Wikipedia community alone. Right? Diegodlh (talk) 22:34, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

Probably more effective kept as two separate essays, I think, so that we can optimise each one for its intended and distinct audience, rather than leaving them to navigate a page where we already know which parts they need to skip to. And "Wikipedia can use your selfie if you let us" is a simple message that we need to get out there more, it's really useful that I can send someone a link to Wikipedia:A picture of you and say "just read this".

Putting the essays on Commons might make more sense technically, but in practically all cases the conversation being had with the photographer is going to be about "an image for Wikipedia". We'd still be framing the essay as being about getting an image onto Wikipedia, rather than rewriting it to be about "how to get a selfie onto Commons" with a side benefit that Wikipedia can also use that image.

Having the essays here also gives them a bit more authority and reassurance, that it's Wikipedia asking for the image rather than some site called "Wikimedia Commons" that the reader has very likely never heard of. If somebody wanted to use my photo in a YouTube video and sent me a link to instructions at "YouCube" which had a different logo, I might wonder what was going on. Belbury (talk) 10:16, 30 October 2024 (UTC)