The Importance Of Ethical Content Creation

Ethical content creation is important now more than ever. Whether it's as simple as being sure to give credit to others or something as paramount as ensuring the safety of those around you, being a "good person" should always prevail over being a "good content creator." It should — but it doesn't always. 

When it comes to content creation, reasonable people can do unreasonable things. And in a system that rewards eyeballs and conversations, some people forego common sense and decency in an effort to rack up views. 

A man in Morocco was recently sentenced to three years in prison for intentionally blocking a tram in 2020 (his accomplices were also given 2-year sentences). A New Jersey YouTuber was sentenced to nearly six years for cable piracy. 

And then there are some creators who just make careers of being jerks, even if not crossing the line into illegal behavior. (Unfortunately, no industry is free of them). 

So how do we define ethical content creation when there are so many factors at play? 

Ethics Is A Tricky Subject

Fans of the sitcom The Good Place will remember one of the main characters even gets sent to "the bad place" for his obsessive investigation of ethics and the harm it ultimately does. In fact, much of the show revolves around the notion of just how complicated being a "good," ethical person really is. 

Fortunately when it comes to content creation, we're not quite as worried about the never-ending spiral of actions and consequences. We're mostly just concerned about whether or not what we're making does no harm and serves a purpose. Ultimately, a very clearable bar. 

There are some very easy lines to not cross when it comes to content creation. They are all the obvious ones you're already thinking about. What about things like lying? Well, that's tricky, as we examined with a particularly notable case around a mysterious TikTok creator claiming to be a plain woman. 

But what about the bigger picture when it comes to content creation? What about potential blind spots you may not see when creating content?

Evaluating Potential Blind Spots

There's nothing particularly difficult to understand about why you shouldn't intentionally block trains for clout and views. Best case scenario, you've created a minor delay and annoyance for a few people. Worst case, you get people killed. 

But what about types of content that may pose a much less obvious risk? Take, for example, mukbang content. 

Mukbang content (or livestreams) feature a creator basically just eating food in front of the camera. The term comes from the South Korean words "meok-bang," or "broadcast eating." This type of content can be as harmless as somebody enjoying a slightly indulgent meal and talking about it to as dangerous as people attempting to eat as much food as they possibly can in one sitting. 

You can probably see where this is going. Several mukbang creators have died as a result of extreme forms of the practice. China actually talked of banning the content style as far back as 2020 in an effort to combat potential self harm and food waste, recently raising the possibility again. And yet, mukbang streams are still quite popular both in and out of East Asian countries like China. 

This is an example of a type of content that, in moderation, really shouldn't be much of a concern. But as creators continually push boundaries and audiences egg them on all in an effort to expand reach, popularity, and revenue, we enter a world in which the ethical implications stretch as far as wastefulness to psychological harm to viewers to health issues and death for the creator. 

What other types of content could easily blur the line without hefty creator discretion? Prank videos (staged or otherwise), "man on the street" style content, or even just outspoken commentary on current events. Every creator has a responsibility to evaluate their potential ethical blind spots in their content. 

Understanding Cultural Differences In Ethical Content Creation

There's another tricky element to content creation — what about things that don't necessarily seem "unethical," but are still illegal in some countries. Like, for instance, if China bans mukbang streams. Or an Indonesian TikTok star who was sentenced to two years in jail for blasphemy when she uttered a religious phrase and then ate a pork rind in a video.

Creators assume risks for the content they make and where it can be seen. Some of us, particularly in the United States, forget how fortunate we are to have liberties and freedoms that others don't. But that doesn't mean we are free from the responsibilities of our influence and our content.

We have a responsibility — especially when integrating other cultures and countries into our content — to approach it with a sense of curiosity and respect. And if you're the type of creator who focuses on social issues or injustice, you're often much better left letting the content itself do the talking than trying to dramatize or ruffle feathers in the name of "getting attention." It's not a particularly satisfying solution for some, but you have to consider the unintended consequences of alienating an audience while trying to create content you feel is still merited. 

Intent Is Everything In Ethical Content Creation

Similar to our conversation about the difference between "lying" and telling a story, intent is everything when it comes to ethical content creation. Look, if you do film reviews, there's a good chance you're going to review a movie you don't like. It's not unethical to frame something in negative terms if the intent is to provide an honest opinion of a piece of art and the audience is there for it. Sure, you might hurt the creator's feelings, but again, that's just part of the discourse. 

But what if instead of hosting a thoughtful critique, you bombarded the film creator with a camera and a microphone and asked them why their movie sucks? Even if you're shouting the same criticisms at them, the intent is no longer to provide a meaningful critique — it's to generate attention by courting controversy and hoping to illicit a response from somebody.

We could argue back and forth about whether that's "unethical" or not, but it's definitely not the kind of thing that's going to build you a long-lasting career. Even Perez Hilton pivoted his tone and coverage style when he realized much of his gossip was just flat-out unproductive and mean, even if the underlying content was accurate.

In many ways, it would best serve content creators to take their own form of Hippocratic Oath, the ancient Greek text that many physicians still adhere to. The oath includes, among many concepts, that "I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm."

Or as it's often summarized: "First, do no harm." In the long run, it pays tenfold to be thoughtful and ethical — even if it seems like taking click-baiting, ethically dubious shortcuts work in the short term.