The Diddy Crop

During the 2017 Met Gala, Rapper P. Diddy and several celebrities made their grand appearances on the red carpet. While Many individual pictures where taken during the event, many celebrity cliques would come together for group pictures. During one of the photo ops, reality stars Kendal and Kylie Jenner joined musical Hip Hop elites for a group picture. Some of the group picture rappers were Wiz Khalifa, Migos, Jaden Smith, etc. The next day Kylie Jenner posted the group picture on her Instagram page. But, P. Diddy posted the same photo on his Instagram, deliberately cropping out the Jenner sisters, which created gossip online. I guess we all know where P.Diddy stands with the Kardashian/Jenners family.

When comparing “The Diddy Crop” to the Ethical Guidelines of Using Social Media, I discovered the following:

1. Be fair and prudent- Diddy wasn’t fair, he cropped out the Jenner sisters to intentionally embarrass them on social media. Knowing that the internet would spot the difference in the cropped image, Diddy lacked empathy.
2. Avoid deception- Diddy was deceiving his followers because it was not the original picture captured on the red carpet; the photo’s editing was not truthful.
3. Maintain dignity and respect- Diddy was acting disrespectful and petty for choosing the exact image that kylie and her sister were in rather than choosing a different one.
4. Eschew secrecy- Diddy chooses not to be honest with his audience and state in his caption that there were more people in the original picture and a simple explanation to his fans.
5. Is it reversible? — Diddy could’ve deleted the post on his Instagram page, but it was too late; many gossip/entertainment blogs already began to cover the story giving him no time to fix what was already done.
6. Be transparent- This does not apply because Diddy was not paid to post the group picture.
7. Clearly identify — This does not apply because Diddy was not working for any organization or representing anyone.
8. Rational analysis does not apply.
9. Emphasize clarity does not apply.
10. Disclose Transparency- Diddy passively made it known that he did not want the ladies in his Instagram post because he cropped them out.
11. Verify sources and data- Does not apply.
12. Establish responsibility- The malicious intent of Diddy was to show that he didn’t want Kendall and Kylie Jenner in the group picture.
13. Examine intention Diddy’s intention was not made with goodwill, he did this without thinking of Kendall and Kylie’s feelings.
14. Encourage the good- The post does not share connectedness because Diddy cropped Kendall and Kylie Jenner out of it; this divided the group.
15. Consistency builds trust- Diddy’s social media pictures cannot be trusted because he can easily alter an original photo taken unless someone posts the same picture as Kylie Jenner did.

References

Bowen, S. (2013). Using classic social media cases to distill ethical guidelines for digital engagement. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 28, 119–133.

Gay, D. (2018, January 17). P. Diddy cropped Kendall and Kylie Jenner out of his Met Gala Instagram. Retrieved October 05, 2020, from https://www.vogue.com.au/celebrity/news/p-diddy-cropped-kendall-and-kylie-jenner-out-of-his-met-gala-instagram/news-story/08e8cd1c235f38187e22ac47d4c52bea