Opinion
TRANSPARENCY MATTERS
We made an integrity pledge to our donors. Others should do the same.
In Short
Transparency requires acknowledging the time and rigor invested by another individual or organization in research and creative resources.
History is littered with examples of organizations that faced the consequences of clinging to outdated strategies, like Kodak’s failure to embrace digital technology or Sears’ resistance to pivot to e-commerce. Whether commercial or philanthropic, success demands adaptation and differentiation, no matter how uncomfortable. This mindset is what enabled Jeff Bezos to redefine retail through Amazon and Shigetaka Komoris to reinvent Fujifilm in the wake of Kodak’s decline. Both individuals also exercised an unwavering commitment to transparency; Bezos, for example, emphasized the importance of openly sharing strategic decisions with shareholders to allow them to assess the rationale behind bold, long-term investments.
In the nonprofit space, donors are our shareholders. In return for their investment, they expect and deserve transparency so they can evaluate our work for themselves. Unfortunately, in the race for funding and donor recognition, those who opt for quantity and visibility in order to generate impressive metrics are disinclined to subject their choices to shareholder scrutiny.
This problem is especially prevalent on social media, where innovation and originality are essential for effective advocacy. Instead of building upon existing ideas to create new ones, some organizations and individuals have resorted to replicating content, sometimes verbatim and other times with only minor tweaks, before publishing it as their own contribution. As Jimi Hendrix once observed, he was imitated so well that people even copied his mistakes.
While shortcuts may deliver sizzling metrics, they ultimately undermine authenticity and mislead the very donors who make our work possible.
At my organization, the Tel Aviv Institute, we have encountered this problem firsthand. Over the past year, we have observed a growing tendency by some not to build on our messages but outright plagiarize our most innovative, creative and effective content. One notable instance involved one of our donors, who praised another organization’s social media post and encouraged us to draw inspiration from it — unaware that we created the content. When I shared the timestamp of our original post, the donor was stunned.
Consider another example: Our team recently discovered that a prominent social media influencer had continuously repurposed our content, garnering millions of views. While their donors likely believed they were funding original content, the reality was quite different. In academia or journalism, this kind of deception would be met with serious consequences. Nonprofit advocacy should hold itself to no less of a standard.
Some may argue that such criticism reflects a lack of cooperation within the Jewish advocacy space. This is a misconception. Collaboration is essential to our mission, and we actively encourage it by hosting workshops, sharing resources and working with dozens of others to both amplify and tweak their messaging. The issue is not about sharing content. It is about the misrepresentation of work as original, the misapplication of donated funds intended to support innovation and the diversion of resources away from those best equipped to put them to their intended use.
The fight against antisemitism is a community effort, and that is why we are genuinely happy when our social media messages resonate with others and inspire further engagement. But this shared mission does not relieve anyone from the responsibility to disclose to donors when published content originated elsewhere. Transparency requires acknowledging the time and rigor invested by another individual or organization in research and creative resources.
That is why my organization has adopted a simple Content Integrity Pledge, committing to transparency in our social media practices. In this pledge, we promise to credit sources, avoid spreading misinformation and to never publish another’s work as our own. This pledge is not just a matter of ethics but a commitment to our donors, our stakeholders and the broader community we serve.
Social media has given us an incredible opportunity to make gains in the fight against antisemitism. But to succeed, our endeavors demand creativity, collaboration and trust. All organizations in this space must adhere to these basic principles as a non-negotiable standard. Donors deserve to know that every dollar they invest supports authentic, meaningful work. Anything less betrays their trust and undermines the cause we all seek to advance.
Ron Katz is a fintech entrepreneur. After the acquisition of his business by a public company, he joined the Tel Aviv Institute, where he serves as president and devotes his full-time efforts to fighting antisemitism. He received his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, and his articles have appeared in The Hill, Newsweek, The Jerusalem Post and elsewhere.