Toronto, Canada, October 7th, 2021 – To the Members of Our Community,
On Friday October 1st, The Diabetes App (TDA) team received allegations from a tweet that we had “ripped off” the artwork of a diabetes creator and had then attempted to charge the artist $300 CAD for advertising. The TDA team promptly reached out to the creator to better understand the basis for these allegations. When TDA did not hear back, a statement was released denying having ripped off the artwork and explained the digital advertising email.
Before and continuing after the TDA statement, the app received backlash and defamation in relation to both the app and personal members of the team. The creator has claimed that TDA works with the pharmaceutical industry, that the C-levels have no connection to diabetes, and the CEO has been personally attacked with vulgar names. These statements by the creator, released both on Twitter and Instagram, have been unequivocally not true and mean-spirited. These attacks continue to date.
On Saturday October 2nd, TDA then released an apology statement to its followers and users on the TDA Instagram for the situation and the first statement of address. This was the last statement that TDA addressed to its followers on social media.
It was never the intention of TDA to copy an artwork by a member of the community and the inspiration for the post was in fact not the content of the artist – the post in question was inspired by a trend that circulated in February of 2021 on social media called the “My Side of the Bed” trend. Upon further investigation, the TDA team has come across a multitude of illustrations that are similar to the post in question. The post in question was published on a beta app that was released to the public for less than one week in July of 2021, over two months prior to the allegation tweet, and as such no longer exists.
Despite this, TDA apologizes that the circumstances of the allegations were not handled internally and between parties and instead were responded to on social media. TDA has yet to hear back from the artist but intends to continue all further communications through direct contact and is actively reviewing various other responses, including legal pursuits, to the attacks made against TDA in this matter.
To ensure the continued support of artists in the diabetes community, TDA has announced its Community Foundation which will offer financial resources to its applicants through a Non-Profit Organization that will be established in the coming weeks. More information on this foundation to come.
Together we’re stronger.
