Manga artists of great renown, including Boichi, the illustrator of Dr. Stone, are removing their artwork from platform X, formerly Twitter. The decision was announced at the end of December 2025 and continues into this beginning of 2026, after the social network implemented a new image editing function with Artificial Intelligence. The main reason is the fear that their works will be used to train AI algorithms without their consent or fair financial compensation. Thus, creators like Kei Urana, of Gachiakuta, and Mokumokuren, of The Summer Hikaru Died, have also migrated their visual publications to other networks.
Boichi made it clear, however, that he is not completely abandoning X. In his statement, he affirmed that he will continue using the platform to share news and interact with fans. Despite this, his illustrations and manga pages now have a new main address: his Instagram profile. Additionally, the artist also opened an account on Bluesky, a competing social network, following a movement that other colleagues in the profession are adopting. But what led these creators to make this decision? The answer lies in a growing concern with copyright in the era of generative artificial intelligences.
The Debate on Copyright and AI
The core of the issue involves X’s terms of service and how the new AI tool can create derivative works from content posted by users. Although the platform has a process for reporting copyright violations, the legality of using images to train AI models is still a gray area. Legal experts, such as lawyer Grant Smith cited in the original report, point out that AI rendering is a derivative work and, therefore, potentially violates artists’ rights. However, courts are still establishing jurisprudence on the topic.
An emblematic case that serves as background is the lawsuit filed by authors like George R.R. Martin, creator of Game of Thrones, against OpenAI and Microsoft. The writers allege that their books were used to train language models without permission. With expectations to proceed in American courts, this lawsuit could set an important precedent. If the authors win, it would open a more solid path for visual artists to also sue platforms like X for improper use of their works by artificial intelligence systems.
While the judicial debate is not resolved, the practical reaction of creators is to seek safer environments. Instagram and Bluesky emerge as refuges, where policies regarding AI seem, at the moment, clearer or less intrusive. Thus, fans who wish to follow the original art of their favorite mangakas need to pay attention to this digital migration. The movement started at the end of last year is a strong sign of how the relationship between content creators and social network platforms is transforming, with AI technology at the center of the conflict.
