BuzzFeed Removes Josh Popkin Image After Copyright Complaint, Denies Wrongdoing

BuzzFeed has removed an image of Josh Popkin from one of its articles following a copyright complaint over the photograph’s use, according to correspondence from the publisher.

The image had appeared in a BuzzFeed News article about Popkin. After Popkin contacted the company and challenged its use of the image on copyright grounds, BuzzFeed removed it.

But the publisher was careful to make one thing clear: taking the image down was not an admission that BuzzFeed had violated the law.

In an email responding to the complaint, BuzzFeed said the image had been removed “strictly as a courtesy” and “with no admission of any wrongdoing.” The company expressly denied that it had acted improperly.

That leaves the dispute with an unusual but clear outcome: the image is gone, but BuzzFeed is standing by its position that it did nothing wrong.