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Studio Ghibli denies issuing 'warning' as fake ‘cease and desist’ letter to image maker surfaces online
Studio Ghibli's response comes amid a rising trend of AI-generated photos inspired by the studio's movies and animation art style.
The Studio Ghibli frenzy has taken the internet by storm. Opening any social media app right now is an invitation to be subjected to AI-generated photos inspired by the animation style that is the forte of Japan’s Studio Ghibli.
The artform, mastered by Japanese animator and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, has seeped into everyone’s timeline as people rush to ChatGPT to either ‘ghiblify’ their existing photos or create fresh imagery in a matter of a few simple prompts.
Amid all of this, one voice that was missing was Studio Ghibli itself. While the studio, responsible for producing masterpieces such as ‘Spirited Away’ and ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’, has still not directly commented on the use of its imagery style to produce AI-generated art, it has joined the conversation to rebut a fake ‘cease and desist’ letter making rounds on social media, claiming to be issued by the studio.
What happened?
While people were busy producing their own versions of Studio Ghibli-inspired images, a post popped up on March 27 on social media platform X, announcing ‘Gib’ - a social media platform where every image would be inspired by Studio Ghibli. “Instagram but every photo is Studio Ghibli,” the post said.
Later on the same day, the same account shared a ‘cease and desist’ letter claiming to be from “legal representatives of Studio Ghibli”. The letter read that the ‘Gib’ app was in violation of copyright laws, as it draws heavily from the artform created by Studio Ghibli. The letter was shared by X user @tj_littlejohn with the caption - “Just got this cease and desist from Studio Ghibli. AI creators deserve protection, not punishment. Expression is sacred. Imagination is not illegal. If I have to be a martyr to prove that, so be it. I’m assembling a legal team. Firms who believe in this fight, reach out”
The letter quickly went viral on social media and has prompted a response by the Japanese animation studio, which has confirmed that it has not issued any such letter. Talking to NHK, a local Japanese media outlet, Studio Ghibli said, "We have not issued a warning letter."
While the statement from the studio is brief, it debunks the fake narrative being pushed on social media in its name. The community note below the post also reads now that the letter is fake. “This letter is fake. There is no records for a "Sakura-Hoshino LLP" ever existing. The email addressed is not valid. Furthermore, the phone number is fake, as evidenced by it including "555",” it says.
Later on March 28, the same account shared another post consisting an image of Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Ghibli Studios, looking through a peephole, captioned, “ok the app is fake !!”
