How do I flag duplicate photos being used in different observations. There is a photo of Aristobia approximata in Thailand that has been used 4 times recently by 4 different observers.
I think I see the ones you are referring too, and looking closely, they actually look slightly different. Besides being at different zoom/crop levels, note the position of the right antenna tip against the background surface.
They were probably a group all photographing the same individual at about the same moment, which is fine on iNat.
If the photographs were completely identical, you would still want to inquire before flagging a copyright violation, especially if the other data (location, date, etc.) are reasonably similar. Sometimes one person will photograph something that each member of the group has personally seen, and might agree to share that photo with the group for their own observations. If it’s done with permission like that, it’s ok though not preferred. Best if each observer puts a note to that effect in the description or comments, but most won’t think to do that.
If it truly looks like a case of someone using a photograph not their own without permission and not representing their own encounter with the organism, then hover over the photo on the observation detail page, and you will see a flag symbol near the bottom of the image. Click that and choose copyright as the reason. It’s also helpful if you add a comment to the flag after creating it, detailing why you think it is a copyright violation – unless it’s just super obvious.
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Yes, the other day I found 8 different observations of the very same plant by eight different users: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11234119
Evidently there was a group of people on a tour or something like that.
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Similarly while going through a city’s Bioblitz records, you can sometime see the same distinctive plant observed by different people over several days- like it’s a “biocelebrity”. ;)
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or a belebrity, if you will
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OK, thanks all. I guess I didn’t think about a tour group but yes, could be, as it was a pretty exciting specimen they found! I still think some of the photos are the same just cropped, but I will assume the best and not question them this time. Thanks for the advice.
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Wah, wah, wah…
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