[stevehawk]

anyone know why these photos have random paperclip/clippy icons?

[dmbche]

Not sure but first thought was part of the right to repair movement having adopted clippy as a mascot/logo (louis rossman)

[echelon]

They use clippy, not paperclips.

Specifically the cartoon stock art clippy from the original video essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Dtmpe9qaQ

Notice how almost all the comments on that video bear the clippy icon. It's spreading everywhere. Twitter, Reddit, Instagram ...

[fennecbutt]

I don't think that it's spreading anymore. At least from what I've seen.

Thr thing about the general public is that they're apathetic, they can't boycott their way out of a paper bag.

[slicktux]

Probably OPs’ version of watermark..?

[Archonical]

Watermarks usually have branding to indicate ownership. Two distinct 3D paperclip overlays don't seem like watermarks and JonNYC doesn't use them in all photos he's posted on his thread on Bluesky.

They don't even seem to serve as visual cues.

[stephen_g]

If it's not an unusual watermark, perhaps it's to confuse AI classifiers?

[randomtoast]

It could be a size reference.