ChatGPT is adding real cartoonists' signatures to fake New Yorker cartoons
Learn why the model adds authentic signatures and what that means for creators and users.
ChatGPT is producing New Yorker‑style cartoons that include the genuine signatures of established cartoonists, despite the images being AI‑generated fakes. The striking fact is that the system copies the exact handwritten marks, not just a stylized approximation.
The model treats the signature as just another visual element in the image generation pipeline. It does not understand the legal or ethical weight of a signature; it simply reproduces the pixel pattern it has seen in training data. The underlying diffusion process has no notion of ownership, so it copies the stroke data it learned without discrimination.
Users of the tool often notice the false signature after generation and have to manually erase it. One commenter reports that every time they generate a comic with ChatGPT or similar tools, they add an extra editing step to remove the forged mark. The annoyance stems from the fact that the AI does not differentiate between decorative text and a protected identifier.
If you are building or using image‑generation features, you need to add a post‑generation filter that detects and strips real signatures, or train the model with explicit constraints against reproducing identifiable marks. Ignoring the issue invites legal exposure and erodes trust with artists whose work is being misused.
TakeawayNever ship AI‑generated images that retain real artists' signatures without a removal step.