‘Those who say I steal jokes do the same’

Internet sensation Zaid Ali Tahir says his detractors accuse him to gain publicity

LAHORE:

Renowned American comedian David Brenner once said, “You have a better chance of stopping a serial killer than a serial thief in comedy.” That’s really the thing with content plagiarism. It’s hard to prove the theft and hold the thief accountable.

Pakistani-Canadian internet sensation Zaid Ali Tahir is every now and then accused of this very practice. The young entertainer who moved to Canada at the age of 11 in 2004 has lately been making trips to his homeland to connect with his roots. He may have amassed over 15 million views on his videos; but Zaid has no shame in admitting that he rehashes the ideas of others. “We live in a world where every idea has already been done so in a sense there’s no originality left. Most content is made from reworking stuff that’s already there. That’s what every other content creator is doing,” he tells The Express Tribune. “I sometimes get inspiration from everyday things but for the most part, a lot of the content comes from what I see online.”

Dear ZaidAliT, stealing jokes isn’t funny

Perhaps adapting someone else’s work is one thing and not giving due credit for that is another. To those who say he uses content without mentioning its source, he responds, “Those who say I plagiarise, they do it as well. It’s just that they’re not known on the level I am so they try to take me down and earn some publicity for themselves.” Zaid claims that there really is no creator of original content online. “If you can find me one desi comic who creates their own content, I will delete my page.”

He says adding one’s own touch to what’s floating around the internet is also a creative process. According to him, his own videos have been plagiarised but he never accuses others “because that’s childish”. He says, “In the end if it becomes a competition then what’s the point? It will mean that no one has the passion to make others laugh and people do it just to earn fame.”

In the recent past, many have followed in the footsteps of Zaid, driving home the point that his method is workable even if it’s unoriginal. Humour and entertainment in general really are quite different from academia. Once a joke becomes part of the public sphere, it is at the mercy of those perceiving it. However, no reasoning works when it comes to using someone else’s intellectual property and deriving benefits from it. The growth of social media has perhaps given rise to this grey area where entertainers like Zaid thrive.



Zaid began monetising his content only recently and has been making money from his YouTube videos for about six months. “I would encourage others to do it. It can be done only when one has the passion for it. If that’s there, fame and money will all follow.”

Elaborating further on his model, he states, “I don’t consider myself a comedian but I think I can act.” Zaid says hearing him live and in his videos are two different experiences. “In person I may not be as funny because the videos are scripted. A comedian is one who can do that [be funny] in real life as well,” he adds. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2016.

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