ChatGPT has been generating fake New Yorker-style cartoons that include the real signatures of cartoonists, including Brendan Loper, whose pen name "BLOPER" appeared on AI-created images. These cartoons circulated widely on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky following the deaths of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry in late August, with one version receiving 25,000 likes, according to niemanlab.org.
The AI-generated cartoons were created after users prompted ChatGPT to produce New Yorker-style images, which then included Loper’s signature without his involvement. Loper first became aware of this in May when a stranger alerted him to the use of his pen name in an AI-generated image. Over the summer, he found more examples shared in Reddit forums where users posted similar AI-created cartoons bearing his signature, as reported by niemanlab.org.
This issue highlights growing concerns about AI-generated content appropriating artists’ work and signatures without consent. The use of real cartoonists’ signatures on fabricated images raises questions about intellectual property and authenticity in AI art generation. The phenomenon also illustrates how AI tools can blur the lines between original and synthetic content, complicating attribution and ownership in creative fields.
Brendan Loper confirmed the widespread circulation of these AI-generated cartoons with his signature and described the experience as "very surreal," noting the influx of messages from strangers questioning the authenticity of the images, according to niemanlab.org.