Supporting creatives: what you can do about Facebook “freebooting”

Didit Editorial

9 years ago

facebook freebooting

November 11, 2015: If you haven’t yet heard of the “freebooting” controversy surrounding Facebook video, consider yourself lucky. “Freebooting” is now the official term to describe uploading content that is not your own and reaping the benefits and engagement of someone else’s work. In other words, it’s content piracy.

This video from “In a Nutshell- Kurzgesagt” has a fantastic explanation:

Some of these freebooting pirates gain millions of views on the videos and engagements. Both Facebook and the pirate end up gaining from this stolen content, and Facebook makes it difficult for creators to report and take down their stolen content. Once reported, it can take Facebook up to a week to remove the video, allowing it to continue to gain views. Most pirates don’t give any credit or branding to the original creative.

Dustin from “Smarter Every Day” chronicled his own plight when his video was stolen:

Video is a hot topic and trend in the marketing world, and this problem is only going to get worse unless something is done. Marketers and influencers are desperate for content, and video content can be pricey and just can’t be faked. While we’ve covered some of the recent content controversy around “influencers” like @TheFatJew, stealing video is even more hurtful because it can mean lost revenue for the creator. Facebook clearly has its own growth in mind and doesn’t appear to truly care about the copyright problem just yet.

So what can you do as a concerned user?

As mentioned in the above video from “Smarter Every Day,” users can alert creators and help by posting the original link in a comment on the pirated video. Unfortunately, only the content owners can report their stolen work.
Obviously, not following, sharing, or supporting known pirates also helps send the message. While we’d rather not give any Facebook pirates free publicity, this thread on Reddit chronicles a few corrupt pages.
Create your own content, or share original creator work. Social media is about sharing, not taking.
I elected to turn off video autoplay on my home feed, which can be done here (you must be logged in). Facebook counts 3 seconds of a view, which means every time one of these pirated videos ends up on your stream, you could count as one of the millions of views.
The best thing that users can do is continue to spread the word about freebooting. Right now, the problem is on the brink of going viral, but Facebook has yet to truly address the issue. While creatives can report inappropriate use of their work, it’s slow-going and hidden behind a few Facebook Support walls. Share the above videos and support creators!