{"id":604027,"date":"2026-08-25T10:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T10:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/604027\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T10:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T10:00:11","slug":"for-proof-ai-accusations-are-getting-out-of-hand-look-no-further-than-the-hamnet-netflix-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/604027\/","title":{"rendered":"For proof AI accusations are getting out of hand, look no further than the Hamnet Netflix ‘controversy’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/a> on AI music, and art conferences are drawing a line in the sand<\/a>. But perhaps even more common right now than AI art are accusations of AI art.<\/p>\n

In many cases, such as the recent Spider-man controversy<\/a>, 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’.<\/p>\n

The clearly AI-generated image for HAMNET on Netflix doing some crazy things pic.twitter.com\/QihgqpSdbeAugust 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

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“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.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

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\"Long\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Wikipedia)<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

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\"Hamnet\"\n<\/p>\n

The same prop appears in the film itself (Image credit: Universal Pictures)<\/p>\n

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?<\/p>\n

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