Letter From the Editor

Setting the record straight

Dear Momentum Reader,

We have taken down the post at this url at the request of the publication it originally linked to. Because we value transparency, we would like to provide more context, and shed some light on the processes we use on this platform.

As well as publishing new writing, Momentum highlights and drives awareness, traffic, and engagement to quality writing on anti-Black racism elsewhere on Medium, and sometimes outside of the platform. We call such posts, in which we quote and link back to the original piece that we admire, “reblogs.”

Posts of this type have been a common practice since the beginning of digital media, and there are clear rules and best practices to prevent plagiarizing, or claiming another’s work as one’s own. We also have Guidelines on Plagiarism.

From when this post was first published, it included quotes, citations, and links, and it explicitly urged readers to click through and read the original post. Simply put, it was not plagiarism by any definition.

Recently an editor of a publication on Medium expressed displeasure at the reblogging of a piece from his publication. We reached out to the editor to make sure we understood his concerns. Ultimately, despite the piece including all necessary attributions and links, and despite our intention to highlight and drive traffic to the original piece, we honored his request as a gesture of good faith, and took down the reblog linking to his publication.

We always respect a creator’s thoughts and works and will continue to do so. We strongly disagree with the editor’s characterization of the piece as “plagiarism” in this instance, and find the editor’s claims about the Momentum writer and editor baseless.

• MOMENTUM Editors