‘NO TO AI GENERATED IMAGES’: Fan art creators contesting AI integration on social media platforms

The proliferation of generative AI has been accompanied by artist complaints, sparked controversies around artistic agency, intellectual property and the precarity of platform-based creative work. This study examines the anti-AI protest on Lofter, China's largest fan art platform. Fan art creators, who operate at the intersection of fandom and creative labour, represent a salient case for examining the asymmetrical power relations between individual creative workers and platforms, especially regarding AI integration. Drawing on content analysis of anti-AI posts on Lofter, the study explores creators’ concerns and the underlying tensions between fan art creators’ and social media platforms’ integration of AI. Findings reveal that fan art creators face multidimensional challenges: exploitation of their content unparalleled benefits for the platform, appropriation of their unique artistic expressions and violations of community norms that underpin their artistic identities. The lack of transparency and consent in the platform's AI implementation exacerbates these tensions. The findings show creators have established legal, ethical and aesthetic justifications regarding their own content and the AI-generated content, which can serve as a guide for platforms to build transparency and consent into systems by design. By examining the unique dynamics of fan art communities, the study sheds light on broader economic, legal and cultural issues in the increasing AI-infused creative industry.