Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelAndrew Deck @andrewdeck.bsky.social · 05/10/2026ChatGPT is adding the signatures of real New Yorker cartoonists to its AI-generated images. So far, I've found the signatures of more than 15 contributors. "It’s slop, and unlike the other slop that I’ve encountered, this is slop that’s pretending to be me." www.niemanlab.org/2026/10/chat... 8538911548
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelKaren K. Ho @karenho.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I understand that paywalls are annoying, but the grim reality for everything right now, is if you want something to exist, you have to put money towards it. Every creative person is having their life's work hoovered up by AI companies. Layoffs never end. Private equity keeps making things worse. 25857218
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelMatt Zoller Seitz @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026QT if you've ever had a piece stolen by the Times It's a long, long list, I bet The most galling part of this account is the Times editor refusing to acknowledge the reporting they regurgitated, but offering a pity link 07221
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelBrianMcLachlan @brianmcl.com · 02/10/2026I was going over some of the trends/eras of illustration with my students today and Corporate Memphis created the most conversation. It was compared to a business man in a happy face mask, Arial & pop music. Good in contexts like brightening up a train station, bad in masking the cruelness of tech. 623872
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkelhammancheez but spooky @hammancheez.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Yall wanna see a 2 hour old highland cow 358208245019
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkeldan mentos @danmentos.com · 22/09/2026[job interview] interviewer: so god killed all your kids? job: that's right 63112662549
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelFansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 01/10/2026In our latest, @pokachee.bsky.social talks to Pokémon fangame creators like Pokémon Reborn's Amethyst Liddell about the ways that community fundamentally shapes their fanworks. Read the article or listen to an audio version: fansplaining.com/pokemon-fang... 031
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelClara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 01/10/2026People outraged by the Cornell rape case should direct some of their energy to reforming the horribly antiquated NY laws that make it especially hard to successfully prosecute the vast majority of rapes. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...motherjones.comThe loophole that likely doomed the Cornell rape case before it even startedAccusers who voluntarily drink have little protection under an antiquated law many see as "victim-blaming." 621480
Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026🎃🎃🎃 IT'S OCTOBER!!! 🎃🎃🎃 One more call for seasonal recs. I mentioned vampires in my last nudge and we got a bunch of vampire stories. So now I'm mentioning werewolves, zombies, ghosts, and other kinds of supernatural creatures. Or anything Halloween-related! 041
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelAna Diaz @pokachee.bsky.social · 30/09/2026New from me: I did a deep dive and spoke to Pokemon fan game creators for @fansplaining.bsky.social. This was so hard to source, but I am humbled by the sources who took the time to talk to me about this super massive, and relatively under-examined, fandom. fansplaining.com/pokemon-fang...fansplaining.comPokémon Fangames Evolve Beyond Their OriginsFor fangame creators, the work they develop and the communities they inspire are inextricably tied. 29831
Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 30/09/2026*Love* our latest from @pokachee.bsky.social, about a type of fanwork that's massively popular but one I rarely see discussed in convos about transformative fandom. Fangames are technically interesting—literally using the source material in modding—but even more so from a community/fandom angle:fansplaining.comPokémon Fangames Evolve Beyond Their OriginsFor fangame creators, the work they develop and the communities they inspire are inextricably tied. 0147
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelTressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026This is fantastic cultural geography. Very strong lede. Even if you don’t read it all (you should; remember we are working on our brains) the first three paras do the work. Thanks to the person who shared it. www.queergeographies.com/stuck-on-the...queergeographies.comWhy We’re Stuck on the Last DitchWhy does the public delight in watching lesbian bars unravel? 214452
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelKate Hagen's House of Horrors 👻 @thathagengrrl.bsky.social · 30/09/2026"Meanwhile, Jane Doe dropped out of Cornell and was denied her request to get her tuition refunded so that she could transfer to a different college. She hence faced more severe consequences than most of the men who she alleges gang-raped her." www.thecut.com/article/what...thecut.comWhat It Feels Like at Cornell Right NowAs a professor at the Ivy League school, Kate Manne has known many, many victims. There’s a palpable feeling on campus, she writes, that this is big. 653021990
Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 29/09/2026It always cracks me up when our calls for recs here and on Tumblr get lots of shares...and like zero submissions (OK, in this case, 2). C'mon, I know people have vampire fic!!! 🦇 163
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelLuke Plunkett @lukeplunkett.com · 28/09/2026Hi, I'm looking to speak to people who have left games journalism in the last few years and have gone onto do something else. DMs are open, or luke@aftermath.site, thanks! 7442269
Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 28/09/2026"How could I, an adult, read fan fiction?" — A sentence I read in a major publication just now. These articles could stop whenever we want them to. It would be quite simple. Everyone would just need to agree to it. 617024
Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 28/09/2026It's almost October!! And at The Rec Center, that means it's almost time for 🎃 SEASONAL FIC RECS 🎃. - Vampires, werewolves, zombies, other supernatural creatures - Horror, eerie vibes - Halloween-specific stories (including fluff!) Canonical characters/worlds or AUs—please send us your favorites!form.jotform.com✨ The Rec Center Fic Submissions ✨Please click the link to complete this form. 02215
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelStefanie @neveryourgirl.bsky.social · 28/09/2026"One of the things that bothers me the most about this shift is that now we're seeing fanfiction just look like what's valued by the publishing industry. [...] I hate to see it get kinda squeezed back into these very traditional forms that, I think, it always existed in opposition to." Thisss! 0125
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelLevi Stahl @levistahl.bsky.social · 20/09/2026“Autumn in New York,” by Vernon Duke, 1934. “It’s good to live it again . . . “ 2346
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelJohn Lingan @johnlingan.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Thread. This crap is so dumb. But more importantly, a waste. 042
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkelbijan (spooky version) @bijan.bsky.social · 25/09/2026i think about this post all the time. you might too 3269451756
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkelrax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.social · 25/09/2026you guys broke watergate 22889371222
Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I was extremely pleased to be asked to come on another public radio show, "This Is Uncomfortable" from @marketplace.org! A delightful conversation about what is clearly my current beat, "fanfiction is big business now and that's a real downer." 🙂 link.podtrac.com/sbi5iko8 1182
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelFansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 24/09/2026How have the fanfic numbers changed over the past decade? In our latest, fandom stats wizard @destinationtoast.bsky.social writes about their origins in fandom data analysis in 2013—and compares the results of their early stats questions to the same questions today: fansplaining.com/crunching-th... 0203
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkeldylan‽ @audhdylan.bsky.social · 08/09/2026A handy labeler for Substack links, including custom domains, to help avoid giving clicks: bsky.app/profile/labe...bsky.app 2138
Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 23/09/2026So excited to get this one out in the world! 💞 @destinationtoast.bsky.social has been such a fantastic collaborator over the years. I was really pleased we got the ORIGIN STORY here alongside comparisons between 2013 AO3 and 2026 AO3. (Plus interesting thoughts about fandom stats as fanworks!)fansplaining.comCrunching the Fandom NumbersIn 2013, curiosity about Johnlock fic led me to pull my first fandom stats. Today, the world of fandom data analysis is thriving. 1186
Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 22/09/2026I was so delighted that @bookshop.bsky.social wanted to revive the Tropefest series with me! 💓 We started with the broad umbrella of "secret identities," touching on masks, identity porn, fairy tales, opera, superheroes, bodyswapping, romance, transness, RPF....and even more topics somehow lol.fansplaining.comSpecial Episode 40: Tropefest: Secret IdentitiesHe’ll never know the real me hiding behind this mask… 082
Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Please admire the drawing that has graced my Tumblr dash multiple times in recent weeks:tumblr.comReblog by @nevertoomanyspiders · 1 image💬 179 🔁 47611 ❤️ 84125 030
Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 21/09/2026I laughed out loud when I got to this part during copy edits. 170
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelJess Zimmerman @jesszimmerman.com · 21/09/2026That’s todayyoutube.com9/21 - YouTube 13716
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelMax the comics guy who does comics about comics @waitingforthetrade.bsky.social · 20/09/2026The thing I like about the X-Men is that if you join it doesn’t matter if you were an assassin or raised in a murder cult or worshipped as a god, at some point they will make you try to teach geometry to a bunch of fifteen year olds. 16951234
Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Very interested to see this, esp as I work on a piece about the culpability of non-monetized HP fandom in the current climate. AO3 banning a fandom is antithetical to the site's values—turning away from the franchise needs to come from creators/posters. Which is...extremely not happening in fic. 2221
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkelg0m @g0m.bsky.social · 20/09/2026A world where a twist ending is repurposed as a video title. where a thing's climax has been removed, leaving an advertisment for the gap where it used to be. such things are commonplace in. the twilight zone 137149563450
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkelthe hills have vrunt @vrunt.social · 19/09/2026sure yeah, can't even make a stick figure without fucking up and no one at the company gives enough of a shit to even give it another pass but go ahead and take my money so i can use this lazy shit technology every day too 643642675
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelNicolas Hénin @nicolashenin.net · 17/09/2026Nice campaign by the Norwegian Consumer Council about the declining lifespan of products. Enjoy! 180140896477
Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 17/09/2026You know, in the grand scheme of things the Times and I are on the same side and yes of course existential threat, but it is wild to look at this case in light of having your own small publication blatantly ripped off by the Times. (And hearing anecdotes about them doing it to *so* many others.) 0181
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelElle @elleisanisland.bsky.social · 17/09/2026The size of a kitten oh my god 410822
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel404 Media @404media.co · 17/09/2026"I am here to tell you that recent advances in artificial intelligence and the ability for AI to act on the internet has a 100% chance of being annoying as hell, and is already ruining the internet," @jasonkoebler.bsky.social reports. Read now: www.404media.co/theres-a-100... 1315856
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelFansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Is there still space for smaller artists in the convention artist alley? Increasingly not, @mashazart.bsky.social writes in our latest. "The new realities of the industry make it difficult to continue to table as a hobby—and even more difficult to turn it into a sustainable art career."fansplaining.comThe Death of the Artist Alley?For smaller artists, increased costs and outsized merchandise expectations are putting convention-selling out of reach. 03211
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelLisa Messeri @lmesseri.bsky.social · 17/09/2026The media coverage has been all over the place with covering the latest from AI CEOs. This is an excellent piece, which jives with my own research and reading of the situation. 1148
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelJacob Oller @jacoboller.bsky.social · 17/09/2026people think it's SO easy to be a film critic but so few seem to know that it's an extremely complicated process that often involves watching at least one movie 638362
Reposted by Elizabeth MinkelMasha Zhdanova'S WEBCOMIC IS ONLINE NOW!!! @mashazart.bsky.social · 16/09/2026my article about artist's alley is up at @fansplaining.bsky.social today! thank you to everyone who talked to me about their AA experiences for this piece and let me use their photos fansplaining.com/the-death-of...fansplaining.comThe Death of the Artist Alley?For smaller artists, increased costs and outsized merchandise expectations are putting convention-selling out of reach. 15454267
Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Absolutely essential reporting from @mashazart.bsky.social at Fansplaining today for indie artists and the fans who want to support them. If you've been to a con in recent years, you've probably sensed that smaller artists were being pushed out. Here are the on-the-ground realities:fansplaining.comThe Death of the Artist Alley?For smaller artists, increased costs and outsized merchandise expectations are putting convention-selling out of reach. 03116