This is an article discussing what plagiarism is, why it is so important to cite your sources, and how to do so.

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the practice of taking ones content; be it work or ideas, and passing it off as ones own. Some of the time, this happens inadvertently. The content creator is unaware that posting someone else's photo, ideas, or article on their own article, without properly crediting the owner of the intellectual property is unethical. However, when someone begins a hobby creating content, it becomes their responsibility to know how to do so ethically and legally.

I have noticed, on many articles that people will post photos that do not belong to them, that they think others will like too, without citing their sources. I try and point them in the right direction and notify them that their practice is wrong, and send them links about how to cite their sources.

Throughout this article, I will post pictures and instructions about how to properly cite them.

Image credit

Why you Should Care

Being a Steemit member, effectively makes you a content creator. Content creators, new and experienced, all have the responsibility of creating ethical content. This means, when you use someone else's work, you must ask for permission, and cite your source.
Asking for permission somewhere like steemit, will probably never happen, so in a bid to avoid a futile attempt, I will only focus on the importance of citing your sources.
Let's say you spend your time and energy:

1. Taking photos
2. Making music
3. Making videos
4. Thinking of ideas
5. Editing

These things can all take many, many hours. If someone were to come along, take a snapshot, or copy and paste, and use this content that you spent so much effort on for their own benefit while doing absolutely no work themselves - as a content creator you would probably be upset and feel cheated.
This is why we all have a responsibility to each other, and all other creators, to properly cite and credit the work of others.

Ethics aside, the act of plagiarism, or borrowed content is also against the law. Many people have been sued for such things. Where I studied engineering, students caught plagiarizing were removed from their program and permanently banned from studying at the University.
The consequences of plagiarism are serious, they hurt the content creator and they can have serious implications to the one doing the plagiarizing.

Image Credit

How to Cite Your Sources

Articles
If you find a news article that you love, and that you are excited to share with others, instead of copying and pasting - do this,

Create a note, summarizing the article you wish to share, and then link the article underneath. For example:

At least 10 U.S. sailors are missing after USS John S. McCain collided with a tanker early Monday east of Singapore, the second accident involving a ship from the navy's 7th Fleet in two months.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/destoyer-collision-singapore-john-mccain-1.4255174

Quotes or Text
Using the same article that I linked above, here is an example of what to do when you use a direct quote from the new posting:

There has been a major collision between the USS. John S. McCain and a tanker. Several sailors are missing and five are injured.
[1] "The McCain was damaged on its port side aft, or left rear, from the collision that happened at 5:24 a.m. local time, the navy's 7th Fleet said, but arrived at Changi Naval Base in Singapore after suffering damage to its hull that caused flooding in compartments, the navy said."
Unfortunately, the families of the missing sailors were dealt blows as divers are set to begin searching for them.
[2] "Navy and Marine Corps divers will enter flooded compartments on the USS John S. McCain to search for 10 sailors missing after the destroyer and an oil tanker collided in Southeast Asian waters, the 7th Fleet said Tuesday."

At the end of your article, you can now hyperlink the number that relates to the quoted text.
Sources
[1]
[2]

Photos

Here is a snapshot of how I sourced the photos above.

Underneath your image, all you have to do is put your desired text in square brackets [Image credit] (Link to photo source) and then the link to the photo source in regular brackets.
Et Voila! You have sourced your content

Conclusion

By citing your sources you accomplish the following:

1. You contribute to the content creators efforts
2. You create ethical content yourself
3. You become a better writer
4. You create a better reputation for yourself and strengthen your following
5. You void yourself of serious legal implications

These benefits are a good reason why you should write responsibly and ethically. It takes little effort, but the impact is significant!

Thanks for reading, if you have any questions, feel free to leave me a reply and I will get back to you.

My goal is to share knowledge, and experiences while creating a lifelong network. If you like my content, please give me a follow so that I can bring more, directly to your feed and create a network with you!