PM Imran gets Twitter grief for sharing photos without credit

Prime Minister Imran Khan has come under fire on Twitter over photos of Gilgit-Baltistan that were shared from his official Twitter handle without crediting the photographer.

On Sunday, the PM tweeted mesmerising photos of Gilgit-Baltistan with the caption: "The colours of Gilgit Baltistan just before the onset of winter. One of my favourite places on this earth."

While the post quickly racked up likes and retweets, it also evoked a rather sarcastic response from the photographer as well as a reminder that his picture had not been credited.

It started a deluge of criticism, with some Twitter users urging the photographer to report the post and sue the premier for stealing intellectual property.

While some Imran Khan stalwarts pointed out that the premier never claimed the pictures were his own and the whole issue could have been an oversight by the PM's social media team.

Of late, celebrities and politicians have been in the spotlight for copyright infringement issues, which occur when they share photos taken by photographers without buying a license or asking for their permission. Hollywood supermodels Emily Ratajkowski and Bella Hadid have also dealt with copyright lawsuits this year.

Earlier this year, in an attempt to save intellectual property, Instagram also cited that any photo shared without photographers’ permission will not be embedded on the application.