Are creators too quick to meme?

Plus: A new creator labor group promises representation, education and more

Author

Wishu
May 13, 2024

Helloooo!

TikTok, in a groundbreaking move, is now slapping an "AI-generated" label on third-party content, extending its existing tag support to material created outside its ecosystem. Teaming up with Adobe's Content Authenticity Initiative and the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, TikTok asserts its pioneering status as the first social media platform to embrace these Content Credentials metadata tags.

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Are creators too quick to meme?

Baby Reindeer’s ‘Real’ Martha Exposes Social Media’s Mental Health Crisis…

On Thursday night, millions fled to Piers Morgan’s YouTube channel to watch him interview Baby Reindeer’s real Martha, Fiona Harvey. Presented by Morgan as her “chance to set the record straight” it was clear from the outset that the Scottish lawyer had no reasonable rebuttal of many of the claims made about her. The interview instead acted only as a platform from which to further promote her identity, opening her up to greater scrutiny. 

This scrutiny multiplied due to social media’s rapid, rather emotionless, reaction which transformed interview snippets into mocking memes and moments of virality within minutes. 

Taken out of context, these snippets are arguably humourous. 

One takes the snippet of Fiona failing to answer Piers’ question ‘what grades did you get at school’ to which she responds ‘alright grades, umm, not top of the year or anything’. One user @meme______clipzzz posted this under the caption “POV: Me trying to lie during my job interview”.

Another user @vampiredream posted the snippet of Fiona Harvey suggesting Richard Gadd asked her out and she turned him down. Harvey says ‘he asked me to sleep with him with a big green spot on his face and I said no [...] I don’t fancy little boys, without jobs’. This was posted under the caption “POV: Lying to my best mate about the date that stood me up”. 

What’s so strange about this particular latter soundbite is that it has almost transformed Fiona Harvey into a relatable internet icon, a representative for romantic delusion that we are all victims to, perhaps not to the extent of being a stalker sure, but we’ve all misread an awkward romantic situation.  

But is it appropriate to meme-ify a public interview of what is clearly someone in such an unstable mental state? What would be an appropriate amount of time to wait to turn content into a meme, if at all. I suppose one could also argue that this isn’t the responsibility of content creators as a whole but those with more power and larger platforms like Piers Morgan and news platforms in general who perhaps shouldn’t have exposed Harvey to further scrutiny…

Having said that, the complete lack of empathy or understanding from the public was for me, quite shocking, and the speed at which the interview was transformed into viral memes also demonstrates the lack of emotional processing viewers fail to project onto such a sensitive and traumatic piece of news. 

The whole situation speaks volumes about the considerable mental health crisis this country faces and how social media, most of the time, seems to worsen this crisis. 

A new creator labor group promises representation, education and more

The Creators Guild of America is a New Nonprofit Advocacy Organization 

Aimed at protecting the rights and promoting the interests of digital creators and backed by notable creators like YouTuber Justine Ezarik (iJustine), CGA plans to offer benefits such as accreditation, education, mentorship, job opportunities, and networking events to its members.

Promises Representation Across Platforms and Professions

CGA aims to represent creators across various platforms, including social media managers, video editors, and software developers. Recognizing the collaborative nature of creative projects, CGA seeks to encompass all individuals who contribute to the industry.

The New Labor Group’s Structure and Future Plans 

Unlike a traditional labor union, CGA is structured as a guild and does not plan to pursue collective striking or bargaining actions. Members pay an annual fee for benefits, with a free associate membership available with fewer benefits. The organization plans to rely on sponsors and dues initially but hopes to hire full-time staff in the future to further its mission of providing a unified home for creative individuals.

Favorite TikTok of the Week 

Ethan, like myself, feels that they’re aren’t enough non-club spaces dedicated to queer creative people for us to mix and mingle in a drug-free space. Anyone that comes along will get a discount to the next event. Join The Clover Club, run by Ethan Atkinson, on May 25th at Hyde Park if you’re London based, so bring some tinnies and have a chat - see you there! 

@ethaninthewild

Come and make the creative friends youve always wanted #queerlondon #creativesoftiktokk #fashion #artisits #london #meetup #actors #filmak... See more