Passing AI Images Off As Oneself In Media pages

So I've seen this happening on a regular basis here and elsewhere. The challenge is that AI has gotten to the point that unless you're on top of things, it's easy to be fooled. What concerns me is the amount of catfishing that takes place where I might comment on a picture only to be approached by the account asking me for pictures. The other thing, of course, is that there are so many on this site who are so caught up in trying to hook up that they bite and bite hard.

I understand that we're all adults here and are responsible for the consequences of our own choices, but does it not put the site at risk if someone gets catfished to the point that they get harmed by someone who takes advantage of them in this way?

Quote by Racoonteur

So I've seen this happening on a regular basis here and elsewhere. The challenge is that AI has gotten to the point that unless you're on top of things, it's easy to be fooled. What concerns me is the amount of catfishing that takes place where I might comment on a picture only to be approached by the account asking me for pictures. The other thing, of course, is that there are so many on this site who are so caught up in trying to hook up that they bite and bite hard.

I understand that we're all adults here and are responsible for the consequences of our own choices, but does it not put the site at risk if someone gets catfished to the point that they get harmed by someone who takes advantage of them in this way?

Platforms aren't at risk because they're the medium that scammers use. Like, your internet service provider isn't responsible for all the emails you get from Nigerian Princes, and your cell provider isn't responsible for all the calls you get about great deals on car insurance.

We ban a lot of scammers - it's something we take seriously - but as long as we offer free-tier memberships, there will always be people signing up and misrepresenting themselves for whatever reason. If someone DMs you with a 'romance scam', or asks for tokens, etc report them - they will be dealt with.

We also offer a verification system. If you want to be certain about who you're talking to, you can limit yourself to interacting with verified members.

Please see this forum for threads on keeping yourself safe online.

I appreciate the advice, and I'm sure others do too. More than anything, I'd hoped to stir a discussion on the simple fact that there are peeps out there who are putting AI up there that others are falling for time and again. That, and clearly ripping other people's sites for their images and passing them off as their own.

I think it would be better to put that info out more often in a proactive fashion rather than referencing helpful posts after the fact.

Pretty clear there’s a lot of (at least attempted) catfishing going on here. Even though my story readership is probably 80% male, I regularly get unsolicited “Hi” messages from female-identified users I’ve not otherwise had contact with. The are almost always new to the site, claiming on their profile to be looking for love, showing off a handful of too-good-to-be-true sexy photos, and giving no evidence that the intend to ever read or write a story here. I ignore these messages, or block them upon a rare second offense, and since I do not look to Lush as a dating site, it never goes anywhere and I rarely have anything to report. But probably somebody is falling for it.

So far, despite the flood of AI images in general, I personally haven’t yet noticed a lot of obvious AI in people’s photos purporting to be of themselves - though it's obvious that many members have been doing that with non-AI images for a long time. IMO the AI image generators are mostly not quite good enough to fool me into thinking the image is of the member in question, but based on the “you are so hot” comments people make on what to me is pretty obvious AI fakery, I am disturbed by how many are fooled. We may not survive the incoming slop-tsunami if we don’t all grow bigger critical-thinking balls. The bar is about to get raised again with the character-permanence features being rolled out on some sites, which will allow you to generate multiple images of what appear to be the same person.

I understand that it’s caveat user, mostly, as far as the catfishing and other scams go. The advice in Jen’s link is good. I don’t know what else the site can do other than issue stern warnings to the community. This is the enshittified state of the world we live in.

Quote by Racoonteur
I think it would be better to put that info out more often in a proactive fashion rather than referencing helpful posts after the fact.

I mean, they're pinned in the 'welcome to lush' section of the forum. Not sure how much more proactive we could be. There are tools available for people to manage their experience here, but sadly, it being the internet, there will always be people trying to take advantage.

If you receive messages from accounts that sound scammy, please report them and we can investigate.

Again, I just had not seen any real discussion about this taking place while the fake accounts continue to proliferate here. My hope was that if there was such an ongoing discussion, and people would happen across it, then maybe they'd eventually start to look a little closer and be a bit more discerning before buying into the ruse.

One of the challenges is that when a person sees someone passing a bunch of AI images off as actual pictures of themselves, they might say something in response, but that person can simply delete the comment and block the person who is pointing out their scam.

Just an ongoing, informational discussion to keep the fact that these accounts are present here is helpful in itself.

Quote by Racoonteur

Again, I just had not seen any real discussion about this taking place while the fake accounts continue to proliferate here. My hope was that if there was such an ongoing discussion, and people would happen across it, then maybe they'd eventually start to look a little closer and be a bit more discerning before buying into the ruse.

One of the challenges is that when a person sees someone passing a bunch of AI images off as actual pictures of themselves, they might say something in response, but that person can simply delete the comment and block the person who is pointing out their scam.

Just an ongoing, informational discussion to keep the fact that these accounts are present here is helpful in itself.

It's worth noting that many use the site simply to submit/read stories and will only respond to people they have interacted with through that. This issue will feel more relevant to some users than others. That doesn't mean I, and I presume, others aren't sympathetic; it may just be that their own experience makes them feel they have little to offer on the subject. Any messages I get that aren't related to the reason I'm here aren't for me. I may not be the only one for whom this issue is largely irrelevant, which may explain why it's not a hot topic for discussion.

Actually, I think the discussion is going well. I fully anticipated that some would chime in with a "Meh, I don't think it's an issue," approach, and that's fine. Again, the main purpose is to have the discussion, not to make it a win or lose debate.

You're right, there are some here who could care less and are fine with just the naughty chatter, whereas others might appreciate more authenticity in what they view and who they might consider to interact with.