Daryl Aiden Yow, Instagrammer That Used Stock Photos to Build Massive Following, Apologizes

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In what is the inevitable end of an Internet saga, the story we brought you last week about the Instagrammer that built a massive following (and a bit of a career) using stock images has finally come clean and issued an apology. Of course, given the somewhat damning evidence on offer from Singapore magazine Mothership to prove Yow’s guilt, there really wasn’t any other viable response at this point. After the article’s publication, Yow began to delete images and added credits to others in a taking a broom to the tide moment that did little to salvage his public reputation.

Image via Pixabay from Pexels.com.

To the surprise of no one, Daryl Aiden finally admitted that the images he posted were taken from a variety of sources including stock photo databases and Pinterest accounts, among others.

In an apology accompanying an image of pure black, Yow writes:

“The outrage regarding how I have conducted myself is justified and I accept full responsibility for my actions and all consequences that arise from those actions.

I was wrong to have claimed that stock images and other people’s work were my own. I was also wrong to have used false captions that misled my followers and those who viewed my images. Having marketed myself as a photographer, I fell far short of what was expected of me and disappointed those who believed—or wanted to believe—in me.

For all of that, I apologise.”

Since the report, which was picked up by numerous outlets including the BBC, Yow has faced a lot of professional backlash, including losing his Sony Creative Ally status. As for why he didn’t credit the stock imagery used, he also claimed to have purchased the imagery and the license didn’t he require him to do that. That raises another question: Does purchasing stock imagery make you a photographer?

In the case of Daryl Aiden Yow, the answer is a definite “no.”

About Author

Kehl is our staff photography news writer since 2017 and has over a decade of experience in online media and publishing and you can get to know him better here and follow him on Insta.

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