When Going Viral Means Getting Robbed

Why So Many Facebook Pages Are Copying My (and YOUR) Work Without Credit

On the morning of May 15, I published a Facebook post about Daniel Webster "80 John" Wallace—born into slavery in 1860, died a millionaire, and became one of the great unsung cowboys of the American West. It was a new take on a blog article I’d originally written two years earlier, one I decided to rewrite in the cinematic tone I use for my podcast work. The post struck a chord.

It was liked 41.7K times, sparked 2.2K comments, earned 9.3K shares, and reached more than 1.4 million people. Best of all, members of 80 John’s family reached out to thank me for helping bring his story to life.

Then the copies started.

Let’s look at just a few examples:

• May 16, 12:38 PM: Inspire Haven copies the post and hides my comment pointing to the original. Later they edit the caption to say “Credit goes to the respective owner”—a phrase as empty as it is vague. Link

• May 16, 6:38 PM: The page American Black History (362K followers, nearly 10x the size of my page) copies and pastes my full post. As of today, it has over 15,000 likes, 915 comments, and over 3,000 shares. No source given. Link

• May 17, 3:33 PM: Someone makes a post in the Texas History page with the exact image and text from my post—no credit, no link, just my work under their name. Link

• May 19, 8:30 AM: Rewind America does the same. Link

• Little Known Black History Facts and How Vintage have versions, too. Others pop up every day, using my exact words to build their own brand, traffic, and reach.

As near as I can tell, there are now hundreds of these copycat posts on Facebook today. Here’s the problem: Every single one of these pages could have clicked the “Share” button. That’s what more than 9,300 people did. Sharing would have kept my name, my page, and my work attached to the story—and that’s all I ask. But instead, they copy/paste the full text and post it as their own. No attribution, no link, no mention. We learned about this back in school, didn't we? That's called plagiarism. It's called theft.

And this isn’t just happening to the 80 John post. In the past two weeks, I've seen posts I wrote about Texas Jack Junior, Ena Palmer, and the trio of Buffalo Bill, Texas Jack, and Wild Bill Hickok copied, rebranded, and reposted—again, without a shred of credit.

Why do they do this?

Because virality is currency. My 80 John post got serious traction—close to a million and a half views. That kind of attention draws in the copycats. And when they post my work as their own, they’re hoping lightning will strike twice—on their page.

Sometimes it’s about ego. They want the applause that comes with telling a good story, even if it isn’t their own.Other times, it’s more calculated. Many of these pages are monetized—they earn money through views, likes, and comments. And once their post gains traction, they’ll often edit it to add a shady link to a scammy ecommerce site ("Buy this Texas/Montana/California quilt designed by my autistic child from our online shop!"). It’s a bait-and-switch: my history post becomes the lure for a fake product ad.

What’s the big deal?

I'm happy that I helped spread the story of 80 John Wallace, but it isn't my story. This isn't about that. At its core, this is about respect for authorship. I put in the time, did the research, and wrote something people connected with. Reposting it without credit isn’t “inspiration”—it’s plagiarism. It erodes trust, makes it harder for independent historians and writers like me to build a platform, and ultimately confuses readers about where the stories are coming from. I hope that you trust me, Matthew Kerns, the guy who researched and writes the posts on this page. I hope I've given you reason to extend that trust. But no one has any reason to trsut why "David Attenborough Fans" should be posting about the most fascinating but little known figures of the American West.

What can you do if you see this happening?

• Leave a comment with the original post link.

• Report pages that repeatedly copy content without credit.

• Follow and share from the original source. If you enjoy the stories I tell, please share them directly from my page or my website: www.dimelibrary.com

If you’re someone who runs a history or culture page: I get it—good stories are magnetic. And like I said, 80 John’s story isn’t mine to own. That story belongs to his family, to the communities that remember him, and to history itself.

But the words I use to tell that story are mine. I work hard not only to ensure the facts are accurate, but to craft them into something compelling—something that resonates, educates, and endures. That labor deserves acknowledgment.

So do the right thing: share the post. Credit the creator. It builds a better, more honest internet for all of us. And frankly, it takes less time than it did to copy, paste, and delete the original author's name.

I’ll keep researching. I’ll keep writing. And I’ll keep telling stories that matter.

But I’ll also keep calling this kind of bullshit out—because history deserves better than clickbait plagiarism.

-Matthew Kerns