ChatGPT Appends Real Signatures to Fake New Yorker Cartoons

ChatGPT is generating AI-drawn cartoons that mimic the aesthetic of The New Yorker while appending the unauthorized signatures of actual contributing artists, raising significant concerns regarding intellectual property and creative attribution. Following the late August deaths of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, a widely shared AI-generated image depicted the entertainers at heaven’s gates under the pseudonym of cartoonist Brendan Loper. Loper confirmed the work was not his, noting it is part of a broader pattern wherein OpenAI’s model replicates the pen names of dozens of New Yorker contributors, including Emily Flake, Joe Dator, and Pat Byrnes. The unauthorized attribution has drawn sharp criticism from professional illustrators, who view the practice as a direct violation of personal and professional identity. While style replication often falls within complex copyright fair-use parameters, legal experts suggest the direct use of real artists’ names may establish grounds for right-of-publicity claims, particularly if the outputs are later commercialized. Condé Nast, which holds a separate multi-year licensing agreement with OpenAI, has clarified that it never permitted the use of cartoon archives for model training. Standard freelance contracts leave copyright with the artists, further complicating OpenAI’s data ingestion practices, which likely relied on internet-scraped material—a method already under judicial scrutiny in ongoing copyright litigation. After media inquiries highlighted the issue, OpenAI updated its system to display guardrail warnings when users request New Yorker-style cartoons. However, the model continues to randomly attach authentic artists’ signatures to generated images. The incident reflects a broader industry fracture between generative AI development and professional creatives. While publications like The New Yorker maintain strict human-editorial standards, several regional newspapers have begun integrating AI cartoons into opinion sections, prompting condemnation from editorial cartoonist associations. As copyright frameworks and licensing models struggle to keep pace with AI capabilities, professional illustrators emphasize that authentic attribution remains essential to sustaining creative livelihoods and establishing accountability in an increasingly automated content landscape.