when your creative life is taken from you

i really wasnt planning to write this. but if my experience can help even one person feel less alone. or more prepared. then i feel its worth sharing.

in the moroccan summer of 2024 i discovered that my entire instagram presence had been stolen. not just a few images. my photographs. my stories. my family moments. editorial shoots. exhibition work. even magazine interviews. reposted under someone elses name. on someone else’s profile. as if it were their life.

i found out by accident. and the feeling that followed is difficult to describe. a kind of sinking physical disbelief.

from here it unravelled quickly.

they had created not only an instagram but a tiktok account using my imagery. millions and millions of views. a few images werent mine, so i reverse image searched them and notified the original creators. i contacted mutual connections and discovered this person had been speaking to others about my work as if it were theirs. anything that originally had my @ name on it had been badly photoshopped out. this is the context of why you will now always see me posting stories with my @ symbol embedded into the story itself..

please. if you appreciate someones work and you werent part of the project in any form. press reshare. dont screenshot and repost without even asking permission. credit the creator whose work you appreciate enough to share. it takes seconds to acknowledge the person behind the image but it means everything to the one who made it.

because when credit disappears, so does authorship. and when authorship disappears, so does respect.

on digital theft. identity. and protecting the work we pour our lives into.

if this happens to you, here is what i learned.

first.. having friends report the account is not enough.

second.. do not let them know you are aware of it.

screenshot everything.

because the moment they realised i had discovered them, they blocked me. they had already muted me, which meant i couldnt see their stories, only their posts. so i used a friends account to document everything. i copied links and the photographs into a document. i archived screenshots. every post. every caption. every comment.

the strangest part? their account is still active on instagram. how a platform allows someone to repost years of stolen work is beyond me.

what actually works

you must report the account. then report every single post.

yes, it takes time. days. possibly weeks. but for each post, you must:

- fill out a form

- describe the content

- provide the link to their copied post

- provide the link to your original post

- explain what it is

- upload photo id

i submitted hundreds of reports. at one point, people who I believe were the same person on alternate accounts began reaching out trying to “negotiate.” i blocked them. when you block someone, instagram blocks associated accounts too. that’s how i discovered which profiles were connected.

i also screenshotted:

- their entire feed

- their followers

- who they followed

- the people consistently commenting and supporting “their” posts

it had been going on for years. daily reposting. all my stories. that level of commitment to stealing someones life is difficult to comprehend.

i dont wish harm on anyone. if this person is struggling mentally, i genuinely send love. but this behaviour is not harmless. it is invasive. it is a violation.

why i am sharing this

since this happened. ive helped three other women through similar situations. when it happens you feel lost. you don’t know where to start. it feels surreal.

so this is an open letter. if this is happening to you. you are not alone.

i believe we need to show up for each other in this modern world. whenever I see work i recognise that isnt credited, i speak up. its the very least i can do. and I am deeply grateful to those who did the same for me.

sometimes misuse comes from ignorance. sometimes innocence. but in business in 2026 crediting creators is not optional. it is a requirement. a duty. a necessity.

“take it as a compliment”

some people told me to see it as a compliment. i will never do that. i am not here on this platform of instagram to play a character. this is my life. my essence. my thoughts. my eyes. my way of being in the world.

my work is how i make a living. it is how i express myself. i pour our whole hearts into what i create. that is not a compliment. that is theft.

what i do now

from time to time, i reverse image search my photographs.

i check where they are in this digital world. when i find them uncredited i reach out kindly and ask to be credited. i hate having to ask. it makes me uncomfortable. i dont believe creators should have to request basic respect. but here we are.

so lets do better. lets make crediting creators normal. lets make honouring the people who bring work into the world the standard. lets protect each other.

with love and togetherness,

sarah jessica marie Burns xx