AO3 comment scam warning: Do not delete your fics (Fannish Fifty #26)

[verushka70]

This helpful warning of a comment scam being perpetrated by bots in fic comments on AO3 was originally posted on tumblr by allthingswhumpyandangsty.

I'm copying/pasting it here verbatim; original post linked above.

" just a heads up to my fellow writers out there that AO3 is currently fighting off bots commenting on people’s works to tell them that AO3 will delete their fics “due to the works being deprecated”, and the deletion will affect their accounts unless the authors delete the fics themselves first. IT IS A SCAM. AO3 will NOT delete your works. please do NOT fall for these bots! I’ve been told the reason why these bots are doing this is due to copyright infringement issue where they’re trying to steal your works (possibly to train AI but this is just a guess) ‼️‼️‼️and once you deleted your fics, it will be either very difficult or impossible for you to claim ownership of your own fics when they were already deleted.‼️‼️‼️

a reminder that AO3 will never contact you through your comments section (in case they claim to be one of the moderators). AO3 will only contact you through your email address which you use to register your account, and it will be from AO3’s official handle. not some sketchy ass @

so if you get a comment telling you you should “delete your works to protect your account because AO3 is doing blah blah blah” report that comment. don’t delete your works.

PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THESE SCAM. AO3 IS NOT DELETING WORKS. DO NOT DELETE YOUR WORKS JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE CLAIMS THEY KNOW SOMETHING. "

I am not sure why allthingswhumpyandangsty mentions 'copyright infringement issue' - maybe they meant IP infringement? "Copyright infringement" is something fandom and fic are often accused of - despite falling under Fair Use.

AIs trying to vacuum up fanfic in order to "train" AIs, along with tricking the authors into deleting the fics, only to later plagiarize them... I'm not sure what that is called, other than plagiarizing and scamming. Is that copyright infringement, or intellectual property theft, or both? I'm not familiar with the legal aspects, other than what I've read in fandom spaces re: Fair Use.