Creators say false AI labels are damaging their reputations
False AI tags on platforms like TikTok and Instagram are damaging creators' reputations and brand deals
Ashton McGrady spent hours building a detailed collage for Disability Pride Month, only to find TikTok had tagged it "AI-generated". The label was later removed without explanation, but the damage, she says, was already done.
"That's not something that I personally align with, and neither does my audience," McGrady told Business Insider. "The whole point of being a creator is to create myself."
This is far from being an isolated case. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram rely on both human and automated means to scan billions of posts, but many artists believe that the system tends to get things wrong.
According to photographer Gregory Littley, his scanned Polaroids have been labelled as potentially "modified with AI" by social media platforms. Similarly, Lindsey Lee Lugrin, who is a model and artist, says that her hand-painted artwork was labelled with similar hedged words.
Even common software programs such as Canva, Adobe Lightroom, or Instagram's stylised text can cause the AI label to pop up.
For creators, a mislabelled post carries real financial risk in the $12 billion US influencer marketing industry, where authenticity is central to the business model. McGrady said a flagged post made in partnership with a brand could "harm your relationship with the brand".
Eric Bogard, a talent manager, observed how concerns about AI, ranging from job displacements to energy consumption by data centres, have caused creators to become cautious about even associating themselves with AI firms after creators who attended an OpenAI retreat recently faced instant backlash on social media.
These concerns are also reflected in written agreements. Several creators and talent managers told Business Insider that partnership agreements now contain clauses which do not allow AI to be used for scripting, captioning or editing visuals.
The public attitude has changed, according to influencer marketing firm Billion Dollar Boy, which found that the percentage of people viewing generative AI as a "negative disruptor" jumped from 18% in 2023 to 32% in 2025.
