The Great Bot Sweep of 2024
"Hi, I'm Jane and..." Seriously people!
At the end of 2024 they started appearing everywhere, photos of “new” creators here on Substack.
They usually started with “Hi, I’m new on Substack! I like ponies, crystals and sunshine.” There was nothing about writing or their craft in their posts. It looked like a dating app intro. I curiously checked the comments waiting for them to be called out. Nothing!!
Hi! I’m new on Substack!
I wanted to scream and say, “Are you stupid? This is fake!” Maybe bots were liking the bots? Who knows? Some received over 1k likes. Other’s kept circulating in my feed. Were they real, and I was becoming too paranoid or jaded? Maybe it was my lack of trust in people? Maybe it’s AI paranoia? Maybe, I am spot on?
Creations being used without permission
The other day here on “the stack”, I clicked to read a post from a subscriber. I stopped when I saw a familiar photo. WTH???? That was MY photo. It wasn’t my best photo, but it was mine. The thing is, that photo was not on a post or an essay but from one of my notes here. The photo was over a week old. The person cropped my photo and used it for their own.
They did not ask for my permission to post. I felt it was sneaky and unsettling. I still don’t know that person’s motive and I guess I never will.
Why did something “small” trigger me?
Having someone take something that wasn’t mine triggered me.
It took me back to high school when I had unwanted advances. Memories of sexual harassment, in the workplace. Our property being broken into, while we slept. Unwanted “love letters” from a client, when I worked at a salon. Being followed at a store by a creepy man and having to be walked to my car. Having a persistent man “show up” where I happened to be and feeling like I was on edge for a year. The times when I thought I trusted male professionals only to have the line crossed. Those hurt the most.
I also remembered the creepy messages here, that were likely bots. The ones that show up in every woman’s feed on social media. You know there is a middle-aged man with a dog. I guess they know me well. They are a nuisance, and a part of my day. Report. Delete. Repeat.
What is real?
There is a deep ache inside at not knowing what’s real or not anymore. There is a pain for other’s out there that have had something stolen from them. It doesn’t matter if it’s writing, art, or unwanted comments, physical advances or messages.
I hope my writing isn’t next. I know we aren’t immune anywhere.
What have I learned? You can’t trust online. You can’t trust in-person.
I also learned if you build a wall around yourself you will end up very lonely. I’ve been hiding out too long.
We all need human in person connections. With our own family, friends and community
This is a wakeup call. People will disappoint us in life. AI is a wonderful tool but at the same time it can question our reality.
What is true is right in front of us, but sometimes we escape it behind our screens. I do.
When I get one of those, I always say this is a place for writers and story tellers. When they start about cash apps or constantly wanting to know what you are doing, I tell them to go to Facebook.
I can't stand it. One day I will have 100 subscribers the next day 120 up to 160 later on. Once I check to see if these individuals are commenting on others that I subscribed to I usually let it be, but when I see that they are not posting nor commenting. I just delete them. It's so time-consuming going through that process, and annoying.