Otto365 AI Brief #009
ChatGPT: real cartoonists' names on fake New Yorker cartoons
Whose name ends up on your AI images?
What happened
If ChatGPT makes your images, whose name ends up on them? Nieman Lab reported on the 5th of October 2026 that ChatGPT is adding real New Yorker cartoonists' signatures to AI-generated cartoons. The chatbot imitates the magazine's style and falsely credits real artists.1
Three things to know
- Viral cartoon, real name First, a viral Dolly Parton and Tim Curry cartoon drew 25,000 likes on one tweet. ChatGPT made it, yet signed it Bloper, cartoonist Brendan Loper's pen name, though he never drew it.1
- More than 15 signatures Second, Nieman Lab found more than 15 cartoonists whose signatures ChatGPT used without permission. OpenAI said it appreciates people flagging bugs. ChatGPT began warning such prompts may violate its guardrails, yet kept signing some cartoons with real names.1
- Copyright or publicity? Third, Cornell law professor James Grimmelmann told Nieman Lab a copyright suit is tricky because ChatGPT mimics a style, not one cartoon. He said cartoonists could instead claim a right of publicity, if cartoons were used commercially.1
Why it matters to you
Otto365's take (opinion)
So, my take. Image generators can stamp real names, even logos, on your pictures. For a UK small business posting AI images, that is a reputation risk.1
Do this week
Try this: check AI images for signatures or logos before posting.
Sources
- Nieman Lab: ChatGPT is adding real cartoonists’ signatures to fake New Yorker cartoons | Nieman Journalism Lab (opens in a new tab) Primary source, accessed 7 Oct 2026
The quotes we checked (20)
Oct. 5, 2026, 4:01 p.m.
Nieman Lab · source 1
OpenAI’s chatbot isn’t just imitating the magazine’s style. It’s also falsely attributing AI-generated images to real artists.
Nieman Lab · source 1
In the bottom right corner of the cartoon is the pen name “BLOPER,” the signature of New Yorker cartoonist Brendan Loper. But Loper didn’t draw the cartoon, or sign it.
Nieman Lab · source 1
It was generated by ChatGPT and first posted to Facebook by a Dolly Parton fan.
Nieman Lab · source 1
One tweet of the cartoon received 25,000 likes, while other versions of the image circulated on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.
Nieman Lab · source 1
At the pearly gates, Dolly Parton, in a sparkling gown, stands arm in arm with Tim Curry, dressed as Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
Nieman Lab · source 1
In the comments section of her post, she wrote she had simply asked ChatGPT to make “a New Yorker-style cartoon.”
Nieman Lab · source 1
“The signature for me is the certificate of authenticity. I only put it on work that I’m putting on the internet that I feel needs to be recognized as from my hand,” Loper told me.
Nieman Lab · source 1
In all, I documented more than 15 New Yorker cartoonists whose signatures have been used by OpenAI’s image generator without permission or compensation.
Nieman Lab · source 1
including Harry Bliss, Emily Flake, Joe Dator, Pat Byrnes, Peter Vey, and Jason Adam Katzenstein.
Nieman Lab · source 1
“We very much appreciate the community flagging bugs and unintended behavior by our models, so we can address them.”
Nieman Lab · source 1
“We believe the future of creativity is one that is fundamentally human, and our focus is on building tools that empower human creativity and creators,” said a spokesperson for OpenAI in a statement.
Nieman Lab · source 1
After I notified OpenAI of the issue, ChatGPT began to output a new message when I asked it to generate New Yorker-style cartoons: “This prompt may violate our guardrails concerning similarity to third-party content.”
Nieman Lab · source 1
Still, as of the publication of this story, it continues to sign some of the generic cartoons it generates with the names of real New Yorker cartoonists.
Nieman Lab · source 1
“[The signature] is an indication of authenticity, but attribution is a very small part of the fair use inquiry,” said James Grimmelmann, a professor of digital and information law at Cornell Law School.
Nieman Lab · source 1
The chief legal challenge in a copyright suit, he said, is that ChatGPT isn’t usually reproducing any specific cartoon in these examples; rather, it’s mimicking a more general style.
Nieman Lab · source 1
Grimmelmann says New Yorker cartoonists could have grounds for a “right of publicity” case, a body of state-based law that protects individuals from the unauthorized use of their name or identity.
Nieman Lab · source 1
For that, there would need to be proof that the AI-generated cartoons were used for a commercial purpose, not just as a joke or gag.
Nieman Lab · source 1
Some ChatGPT creations reproduced The New Yorker’s logo alongside cartoons; that is also not allowed in any LLM deals, the spokesperson said.
Nieman Lab · source 1
a black-and-white, single-panel illustration with a sparse background, clean linework, and a sardonic caption
Nieman Lab · source 1
Transcript
Full transcript
If ChatGPT makes your images, whose name ends up on them?
Play from 0:05 Nieman Lab reported on the 5th of October 2026 that ChatGPT is adding real New Yorker cartoonists' signatures to AI-generated cartoons. The chatbot imitates the magazine's style and falsely credits real artists.
Play from 0:20 First, a viral Dolly Parton and Tim Curry cartoon drew 25,000 likes on one tweet. ChatGPT made it, yet signed it Bloper, cartoonist Brendan Loper's pen name, though he never drew it.
Play from 0:34 Second, Nieman Lab found more than 15 cartoonists whose signatures ChatGPT used without permission. OpenAI said it appreciates people flagging bugs. ChatGPT began warning such prompts may violate its guardrails, yet kept signing some cartoons with real names.
Play from 0:54 Third, Cornell law professor James Grimmelmann told Nieman Lab a copyright suit is tricky because ChatGPT mimics a style, not one cartoon. He said cartoonists could instead claim a right of publicity, if cartoons were used commercially.
Play from 1:10 So, my take. Image generators can stamp real names, even logos, on your pictures. For a UK small business posting AI images, that is a reputation risk.
Play from 1:22 Try this: check AI images for signatures or logos before posting.
I'm Otto365.
Follow the Brief.
On screen
- Play from 0:00
- Otto365 AI Brief #009, OpenAI ChatGPT, 5 Oct 2026
- Whose name ends up on your AI images?
- New Yorker-style cartoon
- Single panel, caption
- Signed BLOPER
- Not drawn by Loper
- Play from 0:05
- ChatGPT fakes signatures
- Reported 5 Oct 2026
- Ask for a cartoon
- ChatGPT draws one
- Signs a real name
- Shared online
- Source: Nieman Lab, 5 Oct 2026
- Play from 0:20
- Viral cartoon, real name
- Fan asks ChatGPT
- Parton and Curry
- Signed BLOPER
- 25,000 likes
- Loper: Signs his own work, His certificate
- ChatGPT: Same signature, He never drew it
- Play from 0:34
- More than 15 signatures
- More than 15 cartoonists
- Byrnes, Flake, Bliss, Dator
- Without permission or payment
- Make a New Yorker-style cartoon
- This prompt may violate our guardrails
- concerning similarity to third-party content.
- Play from 0:54
- Copyright or publicity?
- Copyright: Mimics a style, Attribution minor
- Publicity: Name or identity, Commercial use
- James Grimmelmann, Cornell Law
- Attribution: small part
- Right of publicity: state law
- Play from 1:10
- A reputation risk
- You asked: A cartoon
- You got: Real signature, Magazine logo
- Signatures of real artists
- The New Yorker's logo
- Still signing after notice
- Play from 1:22
- Check images for signatures
- Voiced by AI. Checked by humans. Apps 365 sells AI and Microsoft 365 services. Not endorsed by companies named.
Voiced by AI. Checked by humans. Apps 365 sells AI and Microsoft 365 services. Not endorsed by companies named. Report an error.