For donations Click Here

Ghostwriting

Question:

I write articles for a website. On the website, the article is bylined under my name. I recently discovered that the company's owner (who has purchased via my salary all rights to the articles, not just the first publishing right) is using my articles on her personal substack where she bylines herself.
I never gave her permission to do so and there's nothing in the contract that says she can pass off my work as her own. However, my editor (who is in regular contact with her; I'm not) hinted that if I raise the issue with her, she will simply alter the contract to stipulate that my articles will be bylined under her name and I'll gain nothing from pointing this out - meanwhile, if I say nothing, at least on the website they are bylined under my name.
My question is whether I am halachically allowed to continue writing for her, enabling her to pass off my articles as hers. I am not sure what her purpose in opening a substack is, though it's quite possible that she is building up "her" portfolio and I believe that she also wants to monetize the substack at some point in the near future.
I once asked a she'ilah about ghost-authoring papers for students working toward a degree and was told that it's assur. This is why I'm asking now regarding this similar situation.
Thank you

 

Answer:

Hello,

If your only problem here is the fact that she is taking your articles and you aren’t comfortable with it, even if what she is doing is problematic, you however don/t have to worry about that part. You are selling her something that is fine, if she decided to do something improper with it after wards that is not your issue, and not lifnei iver.

Best wishes

 

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *