Recipe bots on imgur (rant and how to spot them)

There are a number of recipe bots on Imgur:
@Themostfamousdishesintheworld
@Recipesusa
@everydayRecipes
@Cuisinere (I believe this account has been deleted)
@Recipesfgsi (the newest one)

They post recipes - it annoys me, so I made this post. Well, I made this post because @myotherusernameisalreadytaken asked me how to identify AI/Bot recipe posts. So this is for them.

Some of the recipes these accounts copy are 100% AI. Some are real photos with an AI recipe (there are apps for that, like SideChef - you show it a picture and it gives you a recipe). Many are stolen verbatim from Facebook where the provenance is also extremely fishy (I have traced some of the photos back to Facebook posts which in turn come from AI sites, like https://recipeskaia.com/ )

But first off: why does it matter if it's an AI recipe? Or a recipe stolen from Facebook?

1. The posters are usually pretending that *they* made the recipe. This is insincere, at best, even if the recipe isn't AI and *only* stolen from Facebook verbatim.

The onus rests on the recipe writer to make sure their recipe *works*. If you post a bad recipe and someone tries it and fails, they will think it is because they are a bad cook. The "recipe bots", as I've come to think of them, never engages regarding questions or comments regarding the recipe. The recipes are of little use if they cannot be guaranteed to work.

I hate the idea of someone trying a recipe that *should* work, and then thinking they're to blame when it doesn't. Life is shitty enough, we don't need shitty recipes.

2. AI recipes often don't work.

I say "usually" instead of "always", because cooking isn't an exact science (despite what people claim - no, not even baking - there is a tremendous amount of leeway), and unless I've tested a statistically significant number of recipes, I can't in good faith say they never work. But, while not an exact science, cooking is still a science, and if your quantities or your method is off by too much, your recipe will fail.

Ann Reardon, being her usual fabulous self, tried two AI recipes in a recent video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVaYJgmPvCg

LLMs are great at knowing more or less what kinds of ingredients should go into a recipe, but the recipe (especially the quantities) they give you is an algorythmic amalgamation, not something someone tried and tested in a kitchen before posting.

3. The recipes are posted for datamining/clickbait/whatever purposes.

The above links were from Recipesusacanada and Themostfamousdishesintheworld, which at least suggest they are operated by the same person.

(That website is also an AI website, with the recipes not making sense or not matching the photos.)

*How to tell if a post is a bot recipe post*

1. The recipe image looks off.

I cook a lot. I have looked at more recipes and recipe photos than any sane person should would. One thing that is noticeable about a lot of AI food photos is the lighting and the not-quite-sharp pixels.

Sometimes it is obvious, sometimes it is a gut feeling.

For instance:

When you cut a cake like that, the cream will be a smooth, clean and even line. Why is it so course and uneven? If you've cut a lot of cakes (and I have), this image doesn't sit quite right.

Of course, that is no reason to go and scream "AI", but I consider it circumstantial evidence.

There was another one that I can't find now (a lot of them have been deleted), where there was a minced beef pie with a slice removed and the cheese on top didn't pull at all (like warm, melted cheese would) and the minced beef miraculously wasn't falling out, despite the pie being at least 8cm high. So basically: look at the fingers.

2. The image doesn't match the recipe

If you've cooked a lot, you can read a recipe and know exactly what the final dish is going to look and taste like. (Which means reading salad mould recipes from the 70s is the culinary equivalent of reading Stephen King.)

But even without that experience and knowledge, it should be obvious that the above are *not* what you would get if you followed the instructions:

"Scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into balls. Place on the baking sheet and press down gently to form a shallow well in the center.

Fill each cookie center with about 1/2 teaspoon of raspberry preserves.

In a separate bowl, mix oats, brown sugar, and cold cubed butter with a fork or pastry cutter until crumbly.

Sprinkle the crumble topping over each filled cookie. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden."

A variation on this is a recipe image that already lists ingredients (a recipe card), which differ from the ingredients or quantities in the post's text.

3. The bots sometimes forget this isn't Facebook.

This is an easy one.

(Is it okay if I express rage?)

4. Recipe is incomplete

Like this one, which, despite stopping after cutting the croissants in half, and before adding anything to them, or putting them in the oven, still got 87 upvotes.

The last clue is:

4. Emojis, or ?? where the emojis didn't transfer properly from where they were copied:

AI *adores* using emojis. (I use AI a lot - I had to ask Chatgippity to stop using so many damn emojis.)

My final clue is that all the posts from the OP tend to not look the same, but that they have vastly different styles (both regarding photography and food styling), backgrounds, etc.

If you follow any regular recipe posters on here, or even professional chefs elsewhere, you quickly notice that everyone has a certain style.

(For professional chefs that used to be determined by whichever photographer was doing their current recipe book. I don't know how things work on social media. Other than Imgur, I don't do social media.)

For some real recipes, follow the Imgurian Cookbook tag below, or checkout the posts from @laotzu42, @rojelioenescabeche, @TacoLover777 or @triedandtruerecipes .

And if you know of any other tips on how to recognise AI/bots, feel free to share.

Have a good one, Imgurians, and cook something delicious.