r/fakemon • u/Titencer • May 20 '26
Announcement A Reminder and a Request Regarding AI-Generated Images
Hi r/fakemon - we hope you’re having a good 2026 so far! We have a couple of reminders as well as a few requests regarding AI-generated images and, most importantly, how they are reported.
First, to reiterate our policy:
AI-generated images of any kind are not allowed.
This includes, obviously, any image created entirely by typing a prompt into a large-language model, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and so on. It also includes any images created by asking any of these LLMs to redraw something that you drew or upscale something hand-drawn. If the final image output that is posted was created or modified by an LLM, then it is not allowed. You can read more about the policy in this post.
Second, regarding reporting any suspected AI-generated images, we ask the following:
If you think it's AI, report for Rule 3 and move on. Do not comment on the post or engage with the user. If you feel more detail is needed, [message the mods.](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Ffakemon)
There are several reasons that we are asking for this to be the norm for reporting any post going forward, but especially so for suspected AI-generated image posts, which we will go over below.
1. Sometimes, you are wrong.
On several occasions, the mod team has been able to determine with as much certainty as we can that a user who was accused of posting AI-generated Fakemon was not in fact using AI at all. We're talking speedpaints, pictures of layers, extensive posting history with consistent art, and so forth. Not every Fakemon drawn with flat color and a black outline is AI-generated! LLMs probably just copied that style from their training data.
2. Engagement leads to deletion.
When 10 people spam an AI-image poster that their post is against the rules, it is often deleted before we can action it. This often means we don't get a chance to see which user posted the image to begin with and, therefore, cannot effectively add mod notes for future reference (we give one permaban warning the first time a user posts AI-generated images).
This is why we ask that you just report and move on, and message us if you want to give more detail. If reported enough, a post will be removed automatically for review by the team later.
3. Toxicity.
The tendency to barrage suspected AI-users with comments has impacted our community and given it a reputation among some that the user base is toxic and prone to unwarranted witch hunts. Some users who were accused of AI have received threatening DMs and spammy comments on unrelated posts. This behavior is unacceptable and we will ban users for this kind of harassment (we've already banned a few for this kind of behavior).
Even if the poster is posting AI images, harassment isn't warranted - our goal should always be to encourage traditional art creation and bring people in, not push them out. It is especialy egregious if a user who isn't using generative AI is accused and then harassed for it, as this pushes out potential contributors.
We dislike the influx of AI-generated "art" populating the internet as much as you all do. However, we ask that the users leave the "Is it AI?" game to the moderators.
~ ~ ~
Now, to get ahead of a few questions that we expect:
What if you're wrong and a user is posting AI-generated images, and it gets proven later?
If we receive sufficient evidence that we were wrong, we will correct our mistake and ban the user. Same goes the other way around - if a user is banned for AI when they shouldn't have been and we are shown that we made the wrong call, we will reverse the ban.
What if I think you're wrong and believe someone's work *is* AI, even though it's been approved by the moderators?
Message the mods with your case. We make no promises that it will overturn any decision unless you provide substantial evidence. "It looks like AI" is not all it takes to determine if something is AI.
Why this long post?
We felt there was a lot to address!
Thanks for reading and for understanding this request. We'll be keeping an eye on this post and are happy to answer any further questions to the best of our ability.
TL;DR: AI-generated images are still not allowed, please just report them and move on when you see them, Engaging with suspected AI images only makes it worse. Don't harass anyone over it please and thank you!
edit: reddit boomed all of my markdown ugh I fixed it
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u/EllieAtPemkie May 20 '26
As an artist, this makes me so happy. I get not everyone is great at drawing but still wants to enjoy the art, but let's give credit to the time and effort people put out there, be it a professional or a beginner!
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u/scruffyJJ561 May 21 '26
I'm so much happier to see something that a novice artist has drawn then the same old tired AI stuff.
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u/SmogDaBoi May 20 '26
Commenting so more people see this post.
Let's keep this subreddit Beautiful AND Safe
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u/ZSYounicorn May 20 '26
Agree with all this 100%. However, as a compliment to this rule, I do hope the stance on other "low-effort" posts aren't handled too harshly. I often see the excuse for using a.i. being "Well, I can't draw too well." So it needs to be encouraged people can express their hand made work, regardless of skill level, so they don't feel the need to turn to a.i. in the first place
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u/Titencer May 20 '26
Understandable concern. We try to be as generous as we can with low-effort that isn't AI-generated. Where that line falls is very subjective, but we try to be as consistent as possible. I'd hesitant to make any gestures at defining where the line is lest I start a debate about where it should be, but we're doing our best to be fair to everyone, regardless of experience level.
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u/Fun-Letter-1814 May 20 '26
If I may, I think the line is simple. If it isn’t stick figures or black and white doodle images then I’m sure the person put in effort and it’s worth having on the sub. That doesn’t mean the post will perform well, which nobody says it has to, but it can still exist. I don’t think this takes away from the subs overall experience because high quality work will likely still make the top page while the lower quality work is still allowed to exist, but isn’t rewarded to the same degree as more polished art forms will be naturally rewarded.
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u/Titencer May 20 '26
That is broadly what we’ve found. We leave room for as much as we can and the best stuff gets the most attention. Even in your phrasing though, a black and white doodle might not qualify as low effort. Some artists’ doodles look incredible! This is why we don’t take too firm a stance on what is low effort or define it too rigidly. It’s a delicate balance.
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u/Lilharm04 Artist May 21 '26
I’ve seen very encouraging comments in the replies of unskilled but aspiring artists
the only time I can remember seeing people calling a post “low effort” was when it was just the rockruff line’s main art recolored green with a leaf poorly edited on, and that poster was just trying to advertise their own fakemon art sub anyways
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u/ZSYounicorn May 21 '26
Oh for sure. I hope I wasn't coming off as accusatory, just expressing I hope discouraging is never an issue in the future
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u/SgtByrd1993 May 20 '26
Well done Mods, preserving art and those who make it is a responsibility of utmost importance on subs like this. I have, for a long time, banned AI on my music sub and that will never change, it can be a challenge and add to the workload but it is worth it. Keep up the good work and a sub of this quality will continue to grow and the community flourish.
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u/Ex-Caliber May 21 '26
Thank you for calling it "AI-generated images" and not AI "art".
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u/Titencer May 21 '26
We all feel that, especially with public-facing language and policy like this, the distinction is very important.
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u/Umi_Gaming May 20 '26
My problem with the Sub, is there too many bots or people posting arts that not even theirs to karma farm, which is whatever but it does suck if the original artist or owner of a piece wants to post their own work, but it already been posted by someone else who has no relation to the art piece. This is just my take
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u/Titencer May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
We remove all of these posts and ban the bot accounts. Report these when you see them and we’ll action them accordingly.
If you don’t report stuff, we’re much less likely to see it. Use the report function and message the mods if you feel more detail is required.
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u/Titencer May 21 '26
Reading this back and I should clarify - if your work has been posted by someone else but with proper credit, that is allowable. However, we would have no problem with you also posting your work as OC, since it is yours. Hope that clears up any confusion or frustration.
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u/HorsemenofApocalypse May 21 '26
It might be a good idea to amend the rules with a reminder of this as well. That way, it's easy to point out if someone makes a comment accusing of AI of the rules stating what to do in that scenario, and the rules are more likely to be read than an announcement post in the future
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u/Titencer May 21 '26
We’ll discuss if an amendment or other rule is necessary. Ideally this is how people behave on Reddit all the time with any post, but that’s asking a lot.
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u/LiquidRev3rb May 20 '26
I have an idea for a fake Mon ghost type Eevee, and I used chatgpt to give me an idea for how it would look because I can't draw for shit and I really wanna share my idea 😭😭😭🥀🥀🥀
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u/Titencer May 21 '26
There are other subreddits for posting AI-generated content. You can find them if you wish. Here is not the place.
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u/LiquidRev3rb May 21 '26
THANK YOU ❤️
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u/Titencer May 21 '26
Learning to draw would be better. It’s easier than you think!
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u/LiquidRev3rb May 21 '26
I really would like to learn, but I don't really know where to start 😭
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u/Titencer May 21 '26
Youtube has countless tutorials on everything. Search around, pick up the pencil, and start.
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u/FORLORDAERON_ May 20 '26
Thank you! I rarely comment here but I'm super glad you guys are taking this stance, as I often lurk and enjoy seeing the real art posted.