Chapter 1. Evaluating Communication Ethics: Didn’t I Already Say That?

You met Alex in your speech communication class and formed a fast friendship when you realized that you both were from Las Vegas. You are listening to Alex deliver a speech about gun control in the aftermath of the shooting that occurred during a concert in Las Vegas — the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. His speech is compelling, and you are enthralled by his detailed account of how innocent people’s lives were affected, with 58 killed by the gunman and more than 800 injured in the incident. Having similar attitudes toward guns, you find yourself nodding in agreement with much of what he says. But when he closes with a passage about the lessons the event taught him — from appreciating the American value of freedom to counting his blessings — it seems eerily familiar. In fact, it is an almost verbatim copy of something you posted on Facebook the summer before you met Alex. When you get back to your dorm room and pull up your Facebook history, you realize that a mutual friend, Elliot, had been moved by your post and shared it on his own account. Alex must have seen it there, because he used it almost wholesale, changing only minor details, like the names of your family and your elementary school.

You are angry — on many levels. You poured your heart into that post, and although it was only about a hundred words, it took you a good deal of time to write and rewrite until it captured exactly how you were feeling. Now you feel like someone has stolen not only your work but your feelings as well. Even worse, you saw that the class was moved by Alex’s — your — conclusion, and you are certain he will get a good grade based at least in part on something you wrote. And because your privacy settings are pretty tight, the passage will not come up on a standard internet search, so you know it is unlikely that he will get caught unless you say something. What do you do?