What are the ethical considerations in content repurposing
To guide businesses in ethically repurposing social media content, particularly around sensitive or controversial topics, we asked CEOs and Heads of Marketing for their insights. From prioritizing audience well-being to maintaining an authentic voice, here are the top twelve ethical considerations shared by these leaders. Dive in to explore their expert advice on navigating this complex landscape.
What are the ethical considerations in content repurposing
Tip 1
Prioritize Audience Well-Being
Katharina Garmon, CEO & Founder of Socialkind Studio, Socialkind Studio LLC
When repurposing social media content that touches on sensitive or controversial topics, it’s important to put your audience’s well-being first. These topics often get a lot of engagement, but they need to be handled with extra care and sensitivity.
- Listen to Your Audience – Before repurposing, take a moment to read through the comments and feedback on the original post. This helps you understand your audience’s feelings and any potential triggers, guiding you on how to approach the content.
- Include Trigger Warnings – For sensitive topics, add a trigger warning at the beginning of the video and in the caption. This gives viewers a heads-up about the content, allowing them to decide if they want to engage with it.
- Use Sensitive-Content Settings – Platforms often have features to mark content as sensitive. Use these settings to add an extra layer of caution, ensuring that only those who choose to see the content will see it.
By taking these steps, you show your community that you genuinely care about their mental and emotional well-being. Giving viewers a moment to decide whether to engage with sensitive content is a small but meaningful way to practice responsible and ethical social media management.
In my opinion, businesses should always prioritize obtaining explicit consent from the original content creators. This is crucial not only for legal reasons but also to maintain trust and credibility with your audience.
For example, if a business wants to use a tweet or a post from someone who shared a personal story about a controversial issue, it’s essential to reach out to the individual and ask for their permission to use their content. This approach shows respect for their experience and ensures that the context and intent of the original message are preserved.
In one instance, we wanted to highlight a customer’s testimonial that touched on a deeply personal experience. Before using their post in our marketing materials, we contacted them directly to explain how we planned to use their story and why it was important. By doing so, we not only received their consent but also built a stronger relationship with that customer.
By always seeking explicit permission, businesses demonstrate ethical responsibility and respect for their audience, which is essential when dealing with sensitive or controversial topics. This practice helps avoid potential backlash and ensures that the content is used in a way that honors the original creator’s intent and feelings.
When repurposing social media content, particularly around sensitive or controversial topics, assessing cultural sensitivities is crucial. Businesses need to recognize that what might be acceptable in one culture can be offensive or disrespectful in another. This isn’t just about avoiding backlash; it’s about showing respect and understanding toward diverse audiences. Before reusing content, companies should research cultural norms and values of their target demographics. This process ensures they aren’t inadvertently perpetuating stereotypes or alienating any group.
Being culturally sensitive also involves being mindful of language and imagery. Certain words, symbols, or even color choices can have different connotations across cultures. A joke or meme that resonates well in one region might be misunderstood or seen as offensive elsewhere. In essence, being vigilant about cultural contexts helps businesses maintain a positive and respectful presence on social media, building trust and a wider, more inclusive audience base.
Repurposing social media posts for businesses should take into account privacy and consent. We would scrub all details that might give someone’s identity away with their story or example, every time. Respecting people’s privacy is very important, all the more when dealing with sensitive issues such as financial difficulties.
Prioritize data anonymization and aggregation. When we re-distribute content related to financial situations or populations that are underbanked, we cleanse said content of all personally identifiable information and then make it available in an aggregated form, therefore concealing information about specific people and making it appropriate for sharing valuable information.
In the end, I always ask myself, “How would I feel if it’s my personal information being shared?”
You just never know what will harm people, so it’s best to protect your audience by prefacing your post or sharing with a content warning. If the image or video is graphic or features people who are charged with violent crimes, drop it into the comments rather than include it in the post. That will reduce the chance of catching someone off-guard while scrolling.
It’s not just kind to your readers; it’s a smart business move because it will decrease the likelihood of your post being blocked, marked as spam, or reported to the platform as violating their terms of service.
If you post controversial or sensitive stuff, be sure to monitor the post closely so you can quickly deal with trolls and people who are just out to attack others.
One crucial ethical consideration when repurposing social media content is to avoid political or social exploitation. Businesses must refrain from using sensitive or controversial content to push political agendas or social causes if they don’t align with the brand’s core mission. This isn’t just about the potential backlash, but also about maintaining trust and authenticity with your audience.
In industries like law, where trust is paramount, leveraging controversial topics for marketing can easily backfire. Instead, brands should focus on content that genuinely supports their mission and adds value to their audience. It’s important to respect the emotional weight that sensitive topics carry and ensure that any engagement with such content is handled thoughtfully and responsibly.
Keep an eye on the post. Since you re-posted the content, you are responsible for monitoring and resolving any conflicts that arise. You should be the one to clean up the mess and keep the atmosphere positive. Moreover, you, as the business, must ensure that you and the original creator are on the same page regarding the message the content wishes to convey to its audience.
Think about unintended impacts. My company helps funeral homes with their marketing. For many people, death, dying, and funerals can be extremely sensitive topics. That puts funeral homes in a potentially awkward situation every single time people interact with them online and in person. It is critical to think about what new followers or first-time visitors might think when they interact with you.
Funeral homes with active social media presences are often tempted to get in on the latest trends, which can be a great way to become more visible. But this can also create unintended consequences when people expect respectful, grief-filled, and otherwise staid content but are greeted with something that comes off as offensive or mocking simply for being shared by a funeral home. When you work in a sensitive industry, it’s often best to play it safe to avoid offending your customers and potentially grieving families.
In my experience, businesses should consider their responsibility to contextualize and verify facts when repurposing social media content on sensitive topics. Simply amplifying a message without understanding the full context risks spreading misinformation or stoking controversy. It’s important to go beyond surface-level assumptions and do additional research to confirm statistics, verify facts, and understand the nuances of complex issues before repurposing such content.
For example, a few years ago I saw a company face backlash for promoting an info-graphic on social media about racial inequalities in the criminal justice system. While the overall message was valid and important, some of the specific statistics used were outdated or misleading. By failing to double-check the details and understand the nuances, the company ended up undermining an important issue and damaging their credibility in the process. Businesses have a duty to apply extra care and consideration when handling sensitive topics. A little extra effort to confirm the details can go a long way.
Businesses should carefully consider how they handle sensitive or controversial topics when repurposing social media content. One ethical consideration is to avoid misrepresenting the intentions of the original content creator. When reposting or sharing social media content related to sensitive topics, businesses should ensure they properly attribute and link back to the original source. Without this context, the content may appear out-of-context and misrepresent the perspectives of those who created it.
By properly attributing content and linking back to the original creator, businesses can avoid unintentionally altering or distorting the meaning behind the content. Proper attribution and linking allow the original content creator to retain control over their work and message, giving them the opportunity to respond if they feel the business has misrepresented their intentions. This helps maintain trust with customers and stakeholders by demonstrating the business’s commitment to ethical and transparent communication.
Do not appear tone-deaf or biased. The only thing worse than bringing up a sensitive topic is to take sides, not tell the whole story, or appear tone-deaf. This will only make you appear partial, alienate one section of the audience, and potentially gain favor with another. This will only divide your customer base, which is never good. A biased stand only separates you from any potential resolution to the situation because you’ve already said your bit. Instead, give your audience the whole picture, offer them the space to form their own opinions, and help them view it as a discussion instead of a judgment.
Tip 12
Maintain Authentic Voice
Mona Kirstein, Ph.D., Digital Strategist, Holistic Coach & Consultant, The Wholehearted Path
Here’s the real ethical consideration when repurposing social media content on sensitive topics: don’t let fear of controversy paralyze you into irrelevance. Yes, be aware of sensitivities, but don’t sacrifice your authentic voice in the process.
If you’re not occasionally stirring up debate, you’re probably not saying anything worth hearing. The real imperative is to add value to the conversation. Don’t just regurgitate trending hashtags—have a point of view. Challenge assumptions. Make people think.
And if you do ruffle some feathers? Own it. Engage authentically. Show you’re human. That builds more trust than hiding behind corporate-speak ever will.
When repurposing content, especially on sensitive topics, make sure your automation tools are enhancing your message, not diluting it. Regular review and quick-adjustment capabilities are crucial.
Hiding behind bland, safe content? That’s a fast track to irrelevance. Have the guts to take a stand. Use your tools to amplify your real voice, not to churn out fluff. When things heat up—and they will—jump in and engage. That’s how you build a brand people actually care about.
What are your thoughts on the Ethical Considerations in Content Repurposing?
You’ve heard what the experts had to say, now it is your turn. Leave a comment below and let us know what you think.
