Very happy to know that my Abandoned America trademark has been coopted by not one but two different AI slop "creators", both based out of Europe to circumvent my legal protections.

[raiaren@universeodon.com]

@AbandonedAmerica I'm so sorry this is happening to you

[glennmagusharvey@app.wafrn.net]

@AbandonedAmerica@mastodon.social

fuck AI slop to hell

[wcbdata@vis.social]

@AbandonedAmerica Dang - been following you since the early days. Gave your book as a gift a couple of times. Your work is amazing & I hope you're able to get through this nonsense...

[abandonedamerica@mastodon.social]

@zl2tod thanks, friend. It's hard not to feel a bit obsolete in the face of this but I know I love other peoples' passion projects so hopefully there will be room in other people's hearts for mine

[abandonedamerica@mastodon.social]

@raiaren thanks, me too. But I'm still working on my own projects so I'm lucky for that at least

[abandonedamerica@mastodon.social]

@glennmagusharvey I'm with you, hate that shit

[abandonedamerica@mastodon.social]

@wcbdata thank you very much, I really appreciate that. More than just saying it really conveys.

[d_j_nathanson@esq.social]

@wcbdata @AbandonedAmerica Exact same over here on all points. Followed you forever, given your books as gifts a number of times.

What pathetic losers.

[64bithero@mstdn.games]

@AbandonedAmerica This is tragic. You’ve put I so so so much work. Not only into your photos / stories but into pushing to preserve some of places.

I do hope you can find a business Model that keeps a float.

[sharonybaloney@alaskan.social]

@AbandonedAmerica I love your work; I’m so horrified to read this.

[thegardendude@gaygeek.social]

@AbandonedAmerica As a longtime fan of your posts and the podcast, this is really infuriating. I'm so sorry this happened. I've been lending my help to the anti-data center cause in my area. A LOT of people on both sides are rightfully upset. No working class person asked for A.I. It's insane. I hope you can find ways to continue telling these stories without your content being stolen.

[elithebearded@fed.qaz.red]

@AbandonedAmerica

If you have a registered trademark, doesn't Amazon accept that for flagging fakes?

I ask as someone who registered a trademark for that purpose but has never had to attempt that process

[scrottie@bsd.network]

@AbandonedAmerica fuck. even just the principle of being decent to each other. I will never understand the appeal of fake shit. I wasn't in to face swaps or moprhs either when this shit was just that. sorry ​

[lydialurch@mastodon.social]

@AbandonedAmerica That's so messed up. I hate this for you.

[abandonedamerica@mastodon.social]

@elithebearded we'll see but I'm not hopeful. That's the part where I said that these people are registering in other countries where US trademark law doesn't apply

[abandonedamerica@mastodon.social]

@lydialurch thank you. It's been a years-long battle against impersonators but it got harder and wasted more time every year, and that was before AI

[elithebearded@fed.qaz.red]

@AbandonedAmerica

I wish you luck, because I'm sure this won't be easy

[abandonedamerica@mastodon.social]

@scrottie thank you. As a pretty strict documentarian, I'm not a huge fan of artificiality either

[abandonedamerica@mastodon.social]

@Sharonybaloney thanks so much. I'll keep going but I do worry about what this means for the future

[abandonedamerica@mastodon.social]

@64bithero thank you. It has been twenty years since I started the project. I guess I just have to keep going and do my best to ignore it