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Journalism & Media vocabulary · Online and Digital Media

User-generated content

Meaning in journalism & media, with examples

nounCommon term

In journalism & media, user-generated content means: Photos, videos, posts and other material created by members of the public rather than by journalists, which news outlets may verify and use.

In Turkish: kullanıcı tarafından üretilen içerik, kullanıcı içeriği, okur içeriği

How it is used

Usually shortened to UGC. Large newsrooms have UGC or social media desks that find, verify and get permission for this material. Editors must credit the creator and check that the content is real and current.

Example sentences

  1. Most of the first footage from the fire was user-generated content from residents.

  2. Before you use any user-generated content, contact the person who filmed it.

Common collocations

  • UGC desk
  • verify user-generated content
  • use user-generated content
  • user-generated video
  • citizen journalismNews reporting by ordinary people who are not professional journalists, often using their phones to record and share events they witness.
  • footageRecorded film or video of an event, used in news reports, documentaries or programmes.
  • verifyTo check carefully that information, a photo, a video or a source is real and true before you use or publish it.
  • reverse image searchA search that uses an image instead of words to find where else that image appears online and when it was first published.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Online and Digital Media

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