How do you properly credit the source when sharing external content?

Proper sourcing on Reddit means acknowledging where content originated and making it easy for readers to find the original. For news articles and written content, the act of posting a link rather than paraphrasing is itself a form of attribution — the link carries the reader directly to the original publication. When sharing a news article, use the original publication's URL rather than a link aggregator or a paraphrasing website. For images that you did not create yourself, the appropriate practice is to include the original creator's name and a link to the source in the post title or body. Many photography and art communities require this explicitly in their rules. Simply writing "Photo by Jane Smith" is insufficient if no link is provided; the attribution should be actionable, allowing readers to find more of the creator's work. If you found an image on another website that hosts content without original attribution, attempting to find the true original source through reverse image search before posting is considered good form. For Reddit-originating content — a comment you found insightful, a post from another community that you want to share without crossposting — including a link to the original Reddit thread or user profile gives credit transparently. Some communities specifically ask that you include "u/username" or a permalink to the original when referencing another Redditor's content. OC (Original Content) labels should only be applied to content you genuinely created. Falsely labeling someone else's content as your own original work is considered a serious breach of community trust and violates Reddit's content policy. When content is a collaborative creation — say, a data visualization someone made based on your data — acknowledging both contributions is the honest approach. The general principle is that anyone reading your post should be able to trace the content back to its true origin without effort.