MTV News and Comedy Central recently made headlines following their parent company Paramount’s decision to pull down the platforms’ websites, effectively deleting decades worth of work created by contributors.
The moves came after the company has faced financial challenges for years.
Upon visiting the sites, a message now reads: “While episodes of most Comedy Central series are no longer available on this website, you can watch Comedy Central through your TV provider. You can also sign up for Paramount+ to watch many seasons of Comedy Central shows.”
The news of the websites’ shutterings alarmed onlookers, with many taking to social media to express their discontent.
Others used the news as a cautionary tale to share tips on how to protect work created in the event that a digital scrubbing happens.
“I’ve turned all my blog posts into PDFs & will do that moving forward 1 day I’ll have the opportunity to print it I’m shook by MTV News,” one user shared in an X post. “So much for the internet being forever If I’m ever struggling to keep the QueeringPsych website up, I’ll let y’all know.”
The websites’ shutterings signal a larger and more grim conversation about the future of the internet and how information will live on it.
“In 2024, we will face a grim digital dark age, as social media platforms transition away from the logic of Web 2.0 and toward one dictated by AI-generated content,” Wired.com writes in a January essay. “Companies have rushed to incorporate large language models (LLMs) into online services, complete with hallucinations (inaccurate, unjustified responses) and mistakes, which have further fractured our trust in online information.”
So how can you protect your work? Here are few tools to help you become your own archivist.
Authory
This website is perfect for journalists and freelance writers with works that appear across various online platforms. As its site says, Authory aggregates everything you’ve ever written or recorded and generates a beautiful portfolio page so you can showcase, share, and save your life’s work.
I have been a user of Authory for years and often point to the site as a portfolio source as it includes all of the work in reverse chronological order, and even offers the opportunity to create your own newsletter.
Archive.fo
This platform acts as a time capsule for web pages by allowing users to take a ‘snapshot’ of a webpage despite it being deleted. According to the site, it saves a text and a graphical copy of the page.
Smarsh
This site helps companies archive their digital communications by way of compliane technology.