#jamessomerton — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #jamessomerton, aggregated by home.social.
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James Somerton was accused of plagiarism in December 2023. He re-emerged as a wedding photographer, using stock images as his work.
https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2025/04/07/james-somerton-re-emerges-plagiarizes-again-disappears/
#Photography #Plagiarism #JamesSomerton #YouTube #hbomberguy
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James Somerton was accused of plagiarism in December 2023. He re-emerged as a wedding photographer, using stock images as his work.
https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2025/04/07/james-somerton-re-emerges-plagiarizes-again-disappears/
#Photography #Plagiarism #JamesSomerton #YouTube #hbomberguy
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CW: CW possible suicide 3/n
It's sort of fascinating to me. How can someone get help when their own behaviour is so self-defeating? I want him treated fairly and I want him to have access to support, but I wouldn't pick him as a friend. What does society owe him, what's my responsibility.
He did have quite a good income from his plagiarism-supported career, and I suspect he still has enough money to pay for therapy, but I don't feel sure that's a path he actually would take.
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CW: CW possible suicide 3/n
It's sort of fascinating to me. How can someone get help when their own behaviour is so self-defeating? I want him treated fairly and I want him to have access to support, but I wouldn't pick him as a friend. What does society owe him, what's my responsibility.
He did have quite a good income from his plagiarism-supported career, and I suspect he still has enough money to pay for therapy, but I don't feel sure that's a path he actually would take.
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CW: CW possible suicide 2/n
Some indication that Somerton is still alive: his ex-collaborator Nick said "to my knowledge, there's nothing to worry about".
I don't suppose he's in great shape though.
"somerton writing and posting a suicide note is a sign of significant mental distress and being a danger to himself, whether or not he acted on it." - @/bikenesmith_ on Twitter.
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CW: CW possible suicide 2/n
Some indication that Somerton is still alive: his ex-collaborator Nick said "to my knowledge, there's nothing to worry about".
I don't suppose he's in great shape though.
"somerton writing and posting a suicide note is a sign of significant mental distress and being a danger to himself, whether or not he acted on it." - @/bikenesmith_ on Twitter.
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While unconfirmed, #JamesSomerton has posted a suicide note on his locked Twitter account. There have been several attempts to reach out to him, seemingly none have succeeded. Lots of people are laying the blaming #HBomberGuy but I personally think this is unfair; Harry might have run the exposé, but the rest of the internet dogpiled without mercy. I sincerely hope we find James alive, but if not... We have to learn when to stop.
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While unconfirmed, #JamesSomerton has posted a suicide note on his locked Twitter account. There have been several attempts to reach out to him, seemingly none have succeeded. Lots of people are laying the blaming #HBomberGuy but I personally think this is unfair; Harry might have run the exposé, but the rest of the internet dogpiled without mercy. I sincerely hope we find James alive, but if not... We have to learn when to stop.
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CW: CW possible suicide
So apparently James Somerton, slightly famous for extensive plagiarism as explained in that long vid by Hbomberguy, has put a post on Twitter which looks like a suicide note.
Twitter's been roiling with "it's not Hbomb's fault / yes it is / don't do it James". Nobody knows if he's actually dead or not. Some people posted that he was, then backtracked.
I'm thinking: if he _isn't_ dead, what an even worse level of social awkwardness to come back to. Aieee.
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CW: CW possible suicide
So apparently James Somerton, slightly famous for extensive plagiarism as explained in that long vid by Hbomberguy, has put a post on Twitter which looks like a suicide note.
Twitter's been roiling with "it's not Hbomb's fault / yes it is / don't do it James". Nobody knows if he's actually dead or not. Some people posted that he was, then backtracked.
I'm thinking: if he _isn't_ dead, what an even worse level of social awkwardness to come back to. Aieee.
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If you hated the #Plagiarism by #JamesSomerton, but are still distracted by Eye Candy, badly written & acted cheap Theatrics, and awful citations & references by other #BreadTubers, you haven’t learned anything from this.
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Never actually watched any #JamesSomerton videos before the plagiarism callouts dropped, but now I'm watching this streamed commentary/breakdown of his #Utena one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuIQL8ykqGc
2/3 of the way through, it's mostly a sludge of reading off Wikipedia interspersed with lukewarm takes. Then, around 1:54:25, a line that made me stop cold and rewind to make sure I heard it right:
"...which I feel gives a lot of undue complexity to a work that is otherwise meant to just be straightforward."
UNDUE COMPLEXITY. Utena!
Meant to just be straightforward! UTENA?!
I just
Wh
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JFC. Someone from the #hbomberguy Reddit decided to make a subreddit to discuss #JamesSomerton, and as the hate built up, some absolute psycho decided that meant they should try to break into Somerton’s home.
What in the name of fuck is wrong with some people?!
https://www.reddit.com/r/hbomberguy/comments/1aj9j0k/rjamessomertondiscuss_is_no_more/
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JFC. Someone from the #hbomberguy Reddit decided to make a subreddit to discuss #JamesSomerton, and as the hate built up, some absolute psycho decided that meant they should try to break into Somerton’s home.
What in the name of fuck is wrong with some people?!
https://www.reddit.com/r/hbomberguy/comments/1aj9j0k/rjamessomertondiscuss_is_no_more/
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Gita Jackson on Aftermath: “The sad but unavoidable truth is that there is very little justice in cases like these. James Somerton has already stolen my work — the damage has already been done, and it cannot be undone. I have to move throughout the world knowing that an injustice has been done to me; that is just an unfortunate reality of being alive. Somerton makes himself an easy target for all the anger that people feel about similar injustices, like the way that queer history is disappeared or misrepresented or the way that women working in criticism are often ignored.”
https://aftermath.site/please-stop-asking-me-to-sue-james-somerton
#JamesSomerton #HBomberguy #YouTube #VideoEssays #ArtCriticism #QueerArt
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If you're wondering what James Somerton did in response to HBomberGuy's video exposé: he deleted his videos on YouTube or set their visibility to private, put his Patreon on hold, then disappeared for a few days.
Then, a couple of days ago, James Somerton reappeared to make an apology video.
Sorta.
He said the word "sorry", and looked sad at losing his credibility and main source of income. I believe he was genuinely upset about that. This disaster has been bad for his personal and professional relationships, and is causing a financial problem. It's clear to see it's been extraordinarily bad for his mental health, and it's easy to feel sympathy for him on that count.But, James Somerton failed to address the plagiarism. He hardly said the word at all. Instead, he attributed the public outcry to poor referencing/citation style. And, he said he's restarting his Patreon and will make more videos.
The public reaction to such an awful apology was about as negative as you'd expect. A few hours later, James Somerton deleted his apology video.
I think James Somerton isn't sorry for his plagiarism. I think he doesn't believe it's a problem. I think he doesn't truly understand what plagiarism is.
#HBomberGuy #iilluminaughtii #JamesSomerton #YouTube #Plagiarism #ContentMill #VideoEssay #LGBTQIA
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If you're wondering what James Somerton did in response to HBomberGuy's video exposé: he deleted his videos on YouTube or set their visibility to private, put his Patreon on hold, then disappeared for a few days.
Then, a couple of days ago, James Somerton reappeared to make an apology video.
Sorta.
He said the word "sorry", and looked sad at losing his credibility and main source of income. I believe he was genuinely upset about that. This disaster has been bad for his personal and professional relationships, and is causing a financial problem. It's clear to see it's been extraordinarily bad for his mental health, and it's easy to feel sympathy for him on that count.But, James Somerton failed to address the plagiarism. He hardly said the word at all. Instead, he attributed the public outcry to poor referencing/citation style. And, he said he's restarting his Patreon and will make more videos.
The public reaction to such an awful apology was about as negative as you'd expect. A few hours later, James Somerton deleted his apology video.
I think James Somerton isn't sorry for his plagiarism. I think he doesn't believe it's a problem. I think he doesn't truly understand what plagiarism is.
#HBomberGuy #iilluminaughtii #JamesSomerton #YouTube #Plagiarism #ContentMill #VideoEssay #LGBTQIA
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Hbomberguy Didn’t Want to Make That 4-Hour Plagiarism Video
https://www.vulture.com/2023/12/hbomberguy-interview-james-somerton-plagiarism.htmlThis interview by Rebecca Alter with Hbomberguy covers a range of topics raised in his video, and draws-out some thought-provoking insights.
#HBomberGuy #iilluminaughtii #JamesSomerton #YouTube #Plagiarism #ContentMill #VideoEssay #LGBTQIA
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Hbomberguy Didn’t Want to Make That 4-Hour Plagiarism Video
https://www.vulture.com/2023/12/hbomberguy-interview-james-somerton-plagiarism.htmlThis interview by Rebecca Alter with Hbomberguy covers a range of topics raised in his video, and draws-out some thought-provoking insights.
#HBomberGuy #iilluminaughtii #JamesSomerton #YouTube #Plagiarism #ContentMill #VideoEssay #LGBTQIA
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#JamesSomerton reemerged and then #Twitter divided by zero. Big night for #drama.
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#JamesSomerton posted a passive-voice laden apology video and left comments open.
It’s going about as well as you’d think.
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#JamesSomerton posted a passive-voice laden apology video and left comments open.
It’s going about as well as you’d think.
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#Hbomberguy on #JamesSomerton, plagiarism and queer erasure in THAT viral video essay
https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/12/14/hbomberguy-james-somerton-misinformation-queer-erasure/
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#Hbomberguy on #JamesSomerton, plagiarism and queer erasure in THAT viral video essay
https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/12/14/hbomberguy-james-somerton-misinformation-queer-erasure/
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I think james somerton is the kind of guy to "Author Unknown" a quote that has a very much known author, whether or not that author is famous is another story (they probably wouldn't be since it's easier to steal from lesser-known people and try to get away with it).
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I think james somerton is the kind of guy to "Author Unknown" a quote that has a very much known author, whether or not that author is famous is another story (they probably wouldn't be since it's easier to steal from lesser-known people and try to get away with it).
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CW: More queer creators and (separately) more plagiarism
Following on from Hbomberguy's epic vid the other day, here's a Reddit thread where people are crowdsourcing
- more queer YouTubers to watch
- more bits of plagiarism they've identified!
https://www.reddit.com/r/hbomberguy/comments/18a50c1/place_your_plagiarism_discoveries_and_queer/
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CW: More queer creators and (separately) more plagiarism
Following on from Hbomberguy's epic vid the other day, here's a Reddit thread where people are crowdsourcing
- more queer YouTubers to watch
- more bits of plagiarism they've identified!
https://www.reddit.com/r/hbomberguy/comments/18a50c1/place_your_plagiarism_discoveries_and_queer/
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Welp. Looks like #JamesSomerton nuked his site the same way #Hbomberguy and #ToddInTheShadows nuked his career.
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Welp. Looks like #JamesSomerton nuked his site the same way #Hbomberguy and #ToddInTheShadows nuked his career.
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How To Research
Jumping on the “talking about #JamesSomerton” bandwagon.https://devindoespolitics.substack.com/p/how-to-research?utm_campaign=post
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How To Research
Jumping on the “talking about #JamesSomerton” bandwagon.https://devindoespolitics.substack.com/p/how-to-research?utm_campaign=post
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HBomberGuy has released a video of additional material that didn't make it into the main video for time reasons because it was already running over four hours. It adds more info about plagiarism by illuminaughtii. This deserves some time in the spotlight because discussion of her plagiarism has been overshadowed by discussion of her also-awful emotional and financial abuse of ex-employees, ex-collaborators and ex-boyfriends.
https://youtu.be/403eGkWv4MA?si=qUdgOiFDDpByo5sg#HBomberGuy #iilluminaughtii #JamesSomerton #YouTube #Plagiarism #ContentMill #VideoEssay
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HBomberGuy has released a video of additional material that didn't make it into the main video for time reasons because it was already running over four hours. It adds more info about plagiarism by illuminaughtii. This deserves some time in the spotlight because discussion of her plagiarism has been overshadowed by discussion of her also-awful emotional and financial abuse of ex-employees, ex-collaborators and ex-boyfriends.
https://youtu.be/403eGkWv4MA?si=qUdgOiFDDpByo5sg#HBomberGuy #iilluminaughtii #JamesSomerton #YouTube #Plagiarism #ContentMill #VideoEssay
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I feel like this case is especially bad because the people whose content was stolen were oftentimes smaller queer creators. That means #JamesSomerton is stealing from his own community!
There is a list of recommendations in the video, starting at 3h25:
https://youtu.be/yDp3cB5fHXQ?t=12333I know most of the people in the list and I enjoy their content too, especially Matt Baume and Khadija Mbowe. I also added to the list posted on #Reddit, thanks @Rackuur for sharing the link!
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I feel like this case is especially bad because the people whose content was stolen were oftentimes smaller queer creators. That means #JamesSomerton is stealing from his own community!
There is a list of recommendations in the video, starting at 3h25:
https://youtu.be/yDp3cB5fHXQ?t=12333I know most of the people in the list and I enjoy their content too, especially Matt Baume and Khadija Mbowe. I also added to the list posted on #Reddit, thanks @Rackuur for sharing the link!
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My audience is probably too old to be the main target demographic of #JamesSomerton's videos but it's still worth checking out #hbomberguy's video detailing his shameless plagiarism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDp3cB5fHXQ&t=12399s
and also @ToddInTheShadows' video on made-up bullshit in his essays:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6_LW1PkmnY
My personal thoughts in the toot below.
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My audience is probably too old to be the main target demographic of #JamesSomerton's videos but it's still worth checking out #hbomberguy's video detailing his shameless plagiarism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDp3cB5fHXQ&t=12399s
and also @ToddInTheShadows' video on made-up bullshit in his essays:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6_LW1PkmnY
My personal thoughts in the toot below.
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How I know #HBomberGuy's #JamesSomerton video really managed to drive the point home and be convincing (beyond people watching a 4 hour video about plagiarism): I haven't seen any mentions in the Fediverse about servers defederating due to hot takes on the topic.
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How I know #HBomberGuy's #JamesSomerton video really managed to drive the point home and be convincing (beyond people watching a 4 hour video about plagiarism): I haven't seen any mentions in the Fediverse about servers defederating due to hot takes on the topic.
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#JamesSomerton: What has the queer YouTuber been accused of?
https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/12/06/james-somerton-hbomberguy-plagiarism-claims/
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#JamesSomerton: What has the queer YouTuber been accused of?
https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/12/06/james-somerton-hbomberguy-plagiarism-claims/
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Pink News: James Somerton: What has the queer YouTuber been accused of? https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/12/06/james-somerton-hbomberguy-plagiarism-claims/ #LGBT #LGBTQ #Trans #Lesbian #2SLGBTQ #JamesSomerton #Hbomberguy #Celebrity #Identity #Culture #Queer #News #TV
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Watching "Don't Be Like James Somerton: Advice on Citations and Plagiarism" by "Archaeology Tube" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtfvADB6xPE).
Didn't occur to me before that new videos going forward will use #JamesSomerton as shorthand for "rampant plagiarism", lol.
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Watching "Don't Be Like James Somerton: Advice on Citations and Plagiarism" by "Archaeology Tube" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtfvADB6xPE).
Didn't occur to me before that new videos going forward will use #JamesSomerton as shorthand for "rampant plagiarism", lol.
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Please Stop Asking Me To Sue #JamesSomerton
https://aftermath.site/please-stop-asking-me-to-sue-james-somerton
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Please Stop Asking Me To Sue #JamesSomerton
https://aftermath.site/please-stop-asking-me-to-sue-james-somerton
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Context: A YouTuber named HbomberGuy posted a well-researched and thoroughly explained take-down of a handful of popular YouTubers for rampant, blatant, unashamed plagiarism.
As in: videos made mostly or entirely of multi-minute readings of blog posts, Wikipedia pages, documentary scripts created by other people, passed off as their own.
#JamesSomerton was, by far, the most egregious offender.
Great, funny vid if you got the time: https://youtu.be/yDp3cB5fHXQ?si=E3iU-4Y-5tw7nXe8
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Context: A YouTuber named HbomberGuy posted a well-researched and thoroughly explained take-down of a handful of popular YouTubers for rampant, blatant, unashamed plagiarism.
As in: videos made mostly or entirely of multi-minute readings of blog posts, Wikipedia pages, documentary scripts created by other people, passed off as their own.
#JamesSomerton was, by far, the most egregious offender.
Great, funny vid if you got the time: https://youtu.be/yDp3cB5fHXQ?si=E3iU-4Y-5tw7nXe8
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Dans mon bingo 2023 il n'y avait pas "ce youtuber musique expose publiquement ce youtuber que tu détestes en secret depuis des années" mais du coup meilleure nouvelle de la semaine : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6_LW1PkmnY #JamesSomerton
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Dans mon bingo 2023 il n'y avait pas "ce youtuber musique expose publiquement ce youtuber que tu détestes en secret depuis des années" mais du coup meilleure nouvelle de la semaine : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6_LW1PkmnY #JamesSomerton
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And now Dan Olson (FoldableHuman of "Line Goes Up" fame) has weighed-in on the James Somerton disaster, with a thread on the deadbird site:
https://twitter.com/FoldableHuman/status/1731781690769412145#FoldableHuman #DanOlson #HBomberGuy #JamesSomerton #YouTube #Plagiarism
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And now Dan Olson (FoldableHuman of "Line Goes Up" fame) has weighed-in on the James Somerton disaster, with a thread on the deadbird site:
https://twitter.com/FoldableHuman/status/1731781690769412145#FoldableHuman #DanOlson #HBomberGuy #JamesSomerton #YouTube #Plagiarism
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Even The Hard Drive is dragging him now 🤣🤣🤣
YouTuber #JamesSomerton Releases Suspiciously Familiar 4-Hour Apology Video
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Even The Hard Drive is dragging him now 🤣🤣🤣
YouTuber #JamesSomerton Releases Suspiciously Familiar 4-Hour Apology Video
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Man, the shit with #JamesSomerton keeps getting worse and worse.
https://x.com/foldablehuman/status/1731781690769412145?s=12&t=EUtgwMByNj4sQbVP9INV-Q -
So, having watched a 4 hour video that spends 2 hours forensically disecting #JamesSomerton's plagiarism (#hbomberguy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDp3cB5fHXQ), my brain insists we spend 100 minutes watching someone disect his dubious relationship with the truth (#ToddInTheShadows - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6_LW1PkmnY).
12 hours ago I didn't event know who James Somerton was. Why am I now so invested in understanding how awful he is? -
I watched it in one go, with occasional pauses to do some ADHD tangential reading/watching.
#hbomberguy #JamesSomerton #InternetHistorian #AlexanderAvila
