Plagiarism
is never a good thing. Ask any eighth grader who has written a research paper
or talk to Shia LaBeouf, who recently wrote and directed a film called HowardCantour.com,
which was a short film about an online film critic of the same name. LaBeouf
was accused of copying the works of writer and cartoonist Daniel Clowes. While
Clowes himself doesn't seem to have taken any offense to LaBeouf's film, the
Internet has made itself a champion for the protection of his intellectual
property by calling for LaBeouf's apology. However, although LaBeouf has
apologized and continues to do so, lately his comments to his Twitter followers
have been mocking and satirical. He even arranged for a plane to write Clowes
an apology with its exhaust. LaBeouf is fueling negative criticism of himself and his film by
not letting go of the issue.
LaBeouf admitted to the guilt of plagiarizing, but both he and the 'Twitterverse' can't seem to leave the situation alone. His post-apology replies have all been plagiarized themselves from other notable acts of contrition by fellow actors, politicians, and even the CEO of Facebook. That makes LaBeouf an Internet troll, which is someone online who promotes antagonistic behavior for personal enjoyment. This may make him look like a punk except for the fact that he originally tried to genuinely apologize. Perhaps this was a publicity stunt, but if it was, it has backfired. He let his emotions get the better of him, destroyed his own online reputation on Twitter, and alienated legions of fans.
While LaBeouf seems to be trying to make amends now, what he's done has been a disaster PR wise. Online reputations are not things to be taken lightly by anyone, be it a company or an individual. One day information like this could come back and bite him where the sun don't shine, and farther along in his career LaBeouf will regret both his plagiarism and this whole fiasco with Twitter. Yes, his critics were a major part of pushing him over the edge, but he did admit he was at fault for the plagiarism and he should learn from this mistake.
If LaBeouf hopes to rebound from these difficulties, one of the first steps he should consider is online reputation management. And this does not apply only to him: if you have been wronged by critics or are seeking to recover from an embarrassing fall and want to get back on your feet on a positive note online, consider the utilization of Centel Media™'s services. We are the premiere online reputation management firm and specialize in dealing with criticism. Not only do we have products which suppress negative articles, images, reviews, and video, but we also write press releases which are aimed at restoring your reputation through positive reinforcement. We'll also help to prevent this from ever happening again by showing you what it takes to maintain a good reputation. Don't let a nightmare like LaBeouf's situation stop you from reaching your dreams.
Jonathan
Wong,
Assistant
Press Secretary,
Chris
MacEachern,
Editor,
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