Read Cucumber Quest (Also I Rarely Tag Things)

If something has a big fandom, publishers and studios know they can make money off it. This is why we see publishers openly acquiring and selling things that were originally posted as fanfic, like Alchemised, Heated Rivalry, etc. It’s why the horrid wizard woman considers people participating in her fandom to be supporting her political causes.

so I've been running my blog @creditednature for years and this isn't a self promotion, stay with me here

the reason I initially started it is because as an artist I was simply sick and tired of seeing beautiful photos, paintings, makeup looks, etc. divorced of their context and the artists robbed of recognition and potential opportunities when their works went viral without credit.

now crediting works is crucial in the battle against generative AI. I have seen so many people reblog that possum eating Halloween candy video this week because the AI giveaways were subtle. Now that there's a post going around that it's AI, people are remarking in fear that soon even the most subtle AI tells will be perfected until AI is virtually indistinguishable from reality. I agree that very soon it will be nigh impossible to always recognize AI.

Wildlife is an especially popular AI subject, because videos of animals doing unusual, funny, cute, or even scary things are universally popular—receiving major engagement across platforms and diverse audiences.

It's why nature & wildlife photography is so often reposted uncredited already—even before AI. It's why I started a blog dedicated to credited nature works in the first place.

If you start refusing to engage with photography, videos, and art in general that's been reposted without credit to the original creators, you'll be far more successful avoiding gen AI than you will be relying on examining videos by the second for out of place blades of grass.

You should already refuse to engage with uncredited works, but this is one more reason to stop now and set a strict boundary.

No matter how beautiful the painting, no matter how funny the video, no matter how incredible the shot—if there's no credit, don't reblog! Don't share or like or comment. Reserve your engagement. Use reverse image search to find the credit and add it.

This is a good question! Yes, if I see art on Tumblr that appears to be uncredited, I do check OP's blog to see whether they're the artist. I'm not Sherlock Holmes about it. I generally open their blog and see if they mention being an artist in their bio or pinned post. If not, I scroll a few posts and see if they've posted any other work. I usually spend 60 seconds tops "vetting" a blog before reblogging art that appears uncredited.

#0307, #308

Parody of this image by @/hairscare