The Hamnet Netflix controversy proves AI accusations are getting out of hand
(Image credit: Universal Pictures) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter In case you hadn't noticed, AI is everywhere. From art to music to short form…
(Image credit: Universal Pictures) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter In case you hadn't noticed, AI is everywhere. From art to music to short form video, we're surrounded by slop. And by and large, people don't love it. Spotify is finally cracking down on AI music, and art conferences are drawing a line in the sand. But perhaps even more common right now than AI art are accusations of AI art.In many cases, such as the recent Spider-man controversy, these concerns turn out to be legitimate. But the latest social media furore surrounding Netflix's splash page for the movie Hamnet suggests some corners of the internet might be becoming a little to quick to cry 'AI'.The clearly AI-generated image for HAMNET on Netflix doing some crazy things pic.twitter.com/QihgqpSdbeAugust 23, 2026"The clearly AI-generated image for HAMNET on Netflix doing some crazy things," X user Erik Anderson complained this week, along with a screenshot of the splash page, which features a close-up of a prop flyer for the first ever performance of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The post has received hundreds of thousands of views.Latest Videos FromCreative BloqWatch full video here: Yes, it looks a little Photoshopped. The whole thing is overly sharp and saturated in a 'product shot' kind of way, and it all looks rather twee. But that's not what users are taking umbrage with. It's the supposedly mangled text, a bonafide hallmark of an AI-generated image. (Image credit: Wikipedia)Except, the text isn't mangled. It's meant to say 'firft appearance on stage'. That 'f' is an archaic long 'S', the kind of thing that was everywhere in Shakespeare's day. Just wait until these people discover the best Old English fonts.This might be a minor episode in the grand scheme of AI controversies, but it points to a shift in the landscape. We seem to be reaching a point where anything that looks vaguely uncanny or unfamiliar is liable to be accused of being AI-generated. Rather than seeing the confusion as an opportunity to learn something new, people are becoming increasingly willing to reject the entire thing outright. The same prop appears in the film itself (Image credit: Universal Pictures)Here, it was a simple historical tidbit that left people confused. But the idea that we're becoming increasingly conditioned to reject any visual artefact that leaves us confused or uncomfortable is an alarming one. After all, isn't some of the best art designed to make us uncomfortable?Get the Creative Bloq NewsletterSign up to Creative Bloq's daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology. Daniel JohnDesign EditorDaniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles. He has interviewed leaders and designers at brands including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. Daniel's debut book of short stories and poems was published in 2018, and his comedy newsletter is a Substack Bestseller. View More You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Logout LATEST ARTICLES 1 Master the monochrome with issue 270 of ImagineFX 2 Nintendo's Game Boy ads were outrageous in the nineties – here are three examples that would never get made today 3 Razer Blade 18 (2026) review: Oh boy, this is the biggest and baddest of them all 4 PBS getting ghosted by a cloud storage provider makes me terrified I'll lose all my creative work too 5 The Monster Munch rebrand shows a great brand mascot can last a lifetimeSource: Creative Bloq AI Art — Published — Category: Image AI