Exposing the AI Grifters: Y’all Are Wild for This

Some of your favorite Black history creators are cashing in, accepting paid subscriptions for 100% AI-generated content.

And no, it’s not just Black history (or “political”) creators, but that’s my area of focus and where I saw it first.

But can you really call yourself a “content creator” if you don’t actually create content, but instead you generate content with prompts for AI?

In this piece, I’m calling out these mofos on Substack (and beyond) who got people paying for 100% AI-generated content. Really?

Ew.

Some are making 6- or 7- figures with a BOT doing ALL THE WORK! And you need to know… well, unless you’re fine with that. If that’s the case, skip this essay.

And per usual, please ignore my typos… ‘cause I really do be sitting down and writing this content.

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I’ve been on an extended break from creating videos on Instagram for months now.

After the 2024 election, I was spent. So I left the country and did as little as possible in an attempt to recharge.

Meanwhile, several of my counterparts (people who also elevate stories about marginalized communities) were still chugging away, dropping 2–3 videos a day.

It made me wonder about their stamina… and even question my own.

Not only are they posting multiple times a day, but they’re doing it across 5, 6, 7 platforms—Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, BlueSky, Threads, LinkedIn, YouTube.

Just writing that list made me tired. 😂

I thought… maybe this just isn’t for me and how I’m wired.

But I have to admit, I looked at them with admiration, thinking, “Wow, what a pace.” And the opportunities and awards they’ve received as a result of that consistency? Whew.

Meanwhile, I was over here barely doing four videos a month and trying not to feel guilty about a mental health break.

See, when I create content—especially content that digs into the depths of Black trauma—it’s emotionally draining. Uncovering these stories, writing about them, and then presenting that content takes a toll.

And once it’s published? Now I gotta deal with rude people online who don’t appreciate the effort (and, more importantly, the soul) that goes into bringing this work to life.

Honestly, that can make this work un-fun.

That’s why I’ve committed to focusing on Substack—building a community of people who actually appreciate this work and people who willing to pay to subscribe. That way, I can really just focus on creating good work.

As I’ve been getting my bearings on this platform…figuring out the do’s, don’ts, and features…I ran across a few people I knew with Substack pages.

I noticed that one person in particular was producing very lengthy work almost daily.

Because of that, they’ve gotten an incredible number of subscribers over a very short period of time, including hundreds of paid ones.

I was like, WOW… that’s amazing.

Could I do that? Absolutely not. 😂

3,000–5,000 words, heavily researched… EVERY. SINGLE. DAY? Nah.

I’ve been writing professionally for most of my adult life. And I’d need a team for that. So I figured… that’s what these folks had, right?

Welp! I don’t know about a team. But I do know it’s 100% AI-generated content.

Hundreds of paid subscribers and labeled one of Substack’s “New Creators on the Rise” or whatever they label you. Point being, folks are gobbling it up.

So I went back and watched their social media videos.

AI-generated scripts.

Wait. So did they win awards for content written by BOTS?! WTF!

Now, personally, I don’t see anything wrong with AI tools that assist your work…grammar, sentence structure, transitions, even idea generation.

But slapping your name on content you had no real hand in writing? That feels disingenuous. Especially on a WRITING PLATFORM like Substack.

And I’m not the only one who’s noticed.

“A new analysis found that 10 percent of the biggest newsletters on the Substack publishing platform likely use AI-generated content in some capacity, and 7 percent of the newsletters ‘significantly rely’ on AI content. The analysis was conducted by GPTZero, whose AI detector tool can determine the likelihood of text having been created by a generative AI. The results were published exclusively in WIRED.”

(Weirdly, WIRED used an AI-generated voiceover to tell this story.)

Now since Substack has no AI policy (which it should), these “creators” aren’t breaking any rules.

I just don’t know if subscribers know the truth—that they are out here lining the pockets of people proficient at prompts, not writing.

Reminds me of when Meta introduced those AI accounts with real faces on Instagram, and people were in an uproar.

First, because nobody asked for this.

But also because it feels real suss for Meta to end its DEI programming, which included programs that supported Black and Brown creators, while making Black and Brown robots.

Supporting bots but not people? Ew.

LITTLE DID WE KNOW, however, that the avatars were already among us.

AI scripts and real faces.

If that concerns you (like it does me), here are some tools to check if your favorite Substack creators are using AI-generated content—especially before you pay for a newsletter subscription.

All you’ve gotta do is copy and paste a couple of their paragraphs in to these detectors. I’d recommend putting it in more than one detector because each detector is trained on different inputs.

• https://originality.ai/ai-checker – Shows confidence levels on whether content is AI-generated.

• https://copyleaks.com/ai-content-detector – Tells you what percentage of text it believes to be AI-generated.

• https://quillbot.com/ai-content-detector – Breaks down what it believes to be human-written, AI-generated, or AI-assisted.

And if you want to support someone who actually puts in the work—researching, writing, and creating quality content (me!)—consider a paid subscription.

I can’t physically or mentally produce 3 - 5 posts a week.

But what I do share will be purposeful and thoughtful.

And to those who are generating and accepting payment from 100% (or near 100%) AI content… DISCLOSE THAT ISH TO YOUR AUDIENCE, BRUH.

Wanna look at some examples?