"The Stolen Scream"

A young and bored photographer takes a few photos of himself screaming and posts them on the net. Shortly thereafter, his image is spread around the globe within him even knowing.

From MSNBC...

His is the face of revolution in the Middle East and in Latin America. He's on the cover of a book published in Mexico. He's an unforgettable image of anger on T-shirts everywhere. He's an icon painted by graffiti artists on city walls in Spain and on castle walls in Iran. But really, he's none of those things.

Noam Galai is a photographer who's had his self-portrait stolen and misused all around the world -- a stunning case of global intellectual property theft and identity theft that illustrates how life in the digital age can easily rob people the very essence of their identity.

Galai calls it "The Stolen Scream."

Improper? Yes. Illegal? I imagine it's a violation of copyright laws but at the end of the day Galai has succeeded in attracting more attenton to himself and his photograpy than he ever would have if the scream hadn't been "stolen". Even he admits that it's been more of a blessing than a curse. Thus, my long held view that at the end of day "illegal" file sharing of movies and music is a plus for artists not a negative.

Noam Galai's blog documenting over forty countries where his image has been discovered is here.