Ways Creators Are Having Their Art Stolen Online: Part 2/6
- Marc Morgenstern
- Dec 18, 2025
- 4 min read
The Hidden Epidemic of Digital Theft
Every click, share, and repost can become a gateway for theft. From AI scraping to print resale, here’s how creators are losing control of their art online, how you can protect your art, and why protection can’t wait.
Every minute, new art goes online — and somewhere, someone is already downloading, reposting, or replicating it without permission.
From unauthorized resales to AI scraping, creators are watching their livelihoods erode one stolen file at a time. Here’s how it’s happening — and why awareness is only the first step toward protection.
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1. Reposting Without Credit
It’s the oldest trick in the book: download → crop out the signature → repost.
Artists regularly see their illustrations, photos, or animations appear on social feeds with no credit, stripped watermarks, or even fake usernames attached.
According to Achona Online, reposting has become so normalized that some users see “sharing” as appreciation — when it’s actually reputation and revenue theft.
🧾 Case Study: Illustrator Kate Wilson discovered that one of her character sketches had gone viral on Pinterest — but with her name removed and replaced by another users name – which we aren’t sharing to give them more of a boost in views. The repost reached 400,000 views. Kate’s original drawing? That one barely reached 2,000 views.
“It’s not just about credit,” she said. “It’s about people building audiences for themselves on my work.”
2. Unauthorized Resale & Print Copying
Platforms like Temu, AliExpress, and Redbubble are rife with unauthorized reproductions. In one reported case, an Australian Artist found her $25 print sold for $4 on a discount marketplace — copied without permission.
🧾 Case Study: Shop Owner & Artist Mia Foster noticed her signature “lavender whale” design appearing on tote bags and mugs shipped from overseas. None were hers. After six months of legal letters and takedown notices, she managed to have 30 listings removed — but dozens more popped up weeks later.
“Every takedown feels like playing whack-a-mole with my own work.”
3. Style Theft via Generative AI
The rise of AI has created an entirely new kind of theft: style extraction.
Large language and image models like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion are able to scrape data from millions of publicly available images — without explicit consent or compensation to the original creator.
🧾 Case Study: Digital painter Greg Rutkowski discovered his name being used over 400,000 times as a keyword in AI prompts. AI-generated “Rutkowski-style” art flooded the internet — much of it commercialized — without him ever licensing his name or art for AI use.
“It feels like losing your Artistic identity overnight.”
4. NFT and Tokenized Art Theft
NFTs were supposed to protect creators — but they’ve also opened new doors for theft.
Artists have found their work minted as NFTs by others without permission, with buyers unaware the original Artist was not involved in the creation or sale of the of the products they were buying.
🧾 Case Study: When the late Artist Qinni’s digital illustrations were posthumously minted and sold, the community was outraged. Her family received no notice, credit, or compensation. The NFTs were eventually delisted — but the tokens remained on-chain, impossible to erase.
5. Attribution Erosion & Style Copying
Even when art isn’t copied directly, it’s often replicated stylistically.A small edit, color tweak, or composition change makes tracing difficult — but the resemblance undeniable.
“Style theft” often falls into a legal grey area — not exact copying, but still creative identity theft.
🧾 Case Study: Concept Artist Ana Serrano found her distinctive pastel cityscapes copied by a furniture brand for advertising — identical palette, composition, and mood.When confronted, the company claimed “inspiration.”
“They didn’t take my file,” Ana said, “but they took my fingerprint.”
6. Invisible Data Scraping
The most insidious form of all is invisible.AI models and data scrapers pull millions of images from the web — including copyrighted works — with no notification or opt-out.
Artists often never know their work is being used to train algorithms that generate profit elsewhere.
Why It Matters
Creative theft isn’t about flattery — it’s about an unjust use of power and accessibility.When systems and platforms benefit from art without permission or pay, creators lose:
Income from lost sales and jobs
Control over their creative identity
Visibility as their work is detached from their name
It’s an unequal fight — and most creators are left without the tools or resources to defend themselves.
What You Can Do
1. Search for your work. Use reverse image search tools like Google Lens, TinEye, or Pixsy.
2. Add metadata & signatures. Include copyright info in file data and visible marks.
3. Document everything. Screenshots, URLs, timestamps — they all matter.
4. Use protective platforms. Upload only to places that value creator rights and support takedown tools.
5. Join communities advocating for creator protection. Collective voices drive change.
6. Become a Member at Artist Armor and join a community that helps protect your art in all of the ways above instantly.
The Artist Armor Approach
Artist Armor is building proactive protection into the creative process.We’re developing tools to:
Verify authorship and timestamp creation
Track art across the web (coming soon!)
Offer licensing choices that fit how you want your work shared
Educate creators about their digital rights
Because Artists deserve armor — not after the battle, but before it even begins.
🛡️ Protect your art. Claim your proof. Own your power.
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