I'm fired up and have nowhere to be, so here's a thread of what it's like being an independent artist/creator in the age of meme accounts:

An account with 5 million (!) followers posted my design along with a 6-word caption. When I emailed them to ask for credit, I got an auto-response with the rates that they charge for ads. A post on their page is worth $399.

I don’t think it’s okay that these meme accounts are willing to accept money for ads but won’t pay the people who actually create their content, so I sent a friendly invoice for the use of my art.

They eventually messaged me on Instagram, placing the blame on the random twitter account where they found my art in the first place. When I asked if they would pay me for my work, they didn’t. They deleted the post.

It’s been said 1,000 times before, but these meme accounts are the perfect scam. They accept money from huge brands while stealing every ounce of their content from the internet, so they end up pocketing 100% of the profits from hours of work that they, themselves, did not do.

The whole system is so bogus. Pay your independent artists, always and especially now.