Business News Report SMW
March 31, 2023

Midjourney Ends Free Trial Amid User Influx and Hyperrealistic Photos of Trump and Pope Francis

In Brief

Midjourney has put an end to its free trial citing safety and abuse concerns.

Those who want to continue using the AI image generator will have to pay a subscription fee.

As the AI-generated images of Trump being arrested went viral, Midjourney has added the word “arrested” to its ban list.

Midjourney Ends Free Trial Amid User Influx and Hyperrealistic Photos of Trump and Pope Francis

Midjourney has decided to put an end to its free trial citing “extraordinary demand and trial abuse” in a message on Discord, The Washington Post first reported. Midjourney CEO and founder David Holz wrote that free trial users were abusing the technology and the platform’s new safety measures for abuse were insufficient.

Holz told The Verge that the pause of the free trial was due to “massive amounts of people making throwaway accounts to get free images.” He suggested that the culprit was likely a viral how-to video in China and explained that the incident coincided with a temporary GPU shortage. He noted that the combination of these two factors caused the AI image generator to crash for paid users.

Those who want to continue using the AI image generator will have to pay a monthly subscription fee ranging from $10 to $60.

Apart from pausing the free trial, Midjourney had also been struggling to determine content rules for depicting real people, Holz told a live audience of about 2,000 people in a Midjourney “office hours” session on Wednesday.

This is after hyperrealistic images of Trump being arrested and Pope Francis in streetwear created using Midjourney went viral over the past week. The fabricated images of Trump’s arrest were created by Eliot Higgins, the founder of the investigative journalism outlet, Bellingcat. Higgins was later banned from Midjourney without an explanation.

The word “arrested” was subsequently added to Midjourney’s “banned terms” list.

The images were thought to have been created with Midjourney 5, which generates high-quality realistic images without the misshapen hands that Midjourney 4 generates. However, as Holz clarified, version 5 has never been available for free trial users.

As for content moderation, Midjourney’s guidelines state that users must be at least 13 years old and that adult content, gore, and text prompts that are “inherently disrespectful, aggressive, or otherwise abusive” are not allowed. However, there are no restrictions against generating images based on political satire or clear definitions of what makes a prompt controversial.

“There’s an argument to go full Disney or go full Wild West, and everything in the middle is kind of painful,” Holz said in the Midjourney “office hours” session. “We’re kind of in the middle right now, and I don’t know how to feel about that.”

He added that the company was working on refining AI moderation tools that would review generated images for misconduct. In an interview with the Washington Post last September, Holz said that Midjourney and other image generators faced the challenge of policing content in a “sensationalism economy” where individuals whose livelihoods depend on provoking outrage might abuse the technology.

Holz told The Verge that Midjourney’s team is still trying to figure out how to bring free trials back. With Midjourney struggling to mitigate abuse without ending its free service, perhaps these industry leaders were right that AI on certain platforms is moving too fast for anyone – including its creators – to control.

Read more:

Disclaimer

In line with the Trust Project guidelines, please note that the information provided on this page is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other form of advice. It is important to only invest what you can afford to lose and to seek independent financial advice if you have any doubts. For further information, we suggest referring to the terms and conditions as well as the help and support pages provided by the issuer or advertiser. MetaversePost is committed to accurate, unbiased reporting, but market conditions are subject to change without notice.

About The Author

Cindy is a journalist at Metaverse Post, covering topics related to web3, NFT, metaverse and AI, with a focus on interviews with Web3 industry players. She has spoken to over 30 C-level execs and counting, bringing their valuable insights to readers. Originally from Singapore, Cindy is now based in Tbilisi, Georgia. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communications & Media Studies from the University of South Australia and has a decade of experience in journalism and writing. Get in touch with her via [email protected] with press pitches, announcements and interview opportunities.

More articles
Cindy Tan
Cindy Tan

Cindy is a journalist at Metaverse Post, covering topics related to web3, NFT, metaverse and AI, with a focus on interviews with Web3 industry players. She has spoken to over 30 C-level execs and counting, bringing their valuable insights to readers. Originally from Singapore, Cindy is now based in Tbilisi, Georgia. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communications & Media Studies from the University of South Australia and has a decade of experience in journalism and writing. Get in touch with her via [email protected] with press pitches, announcements and interview opportunities.

The Calm Before The Solana Storm: What Charts, Whales, And On-Chain Signals Are Saying Now

Solana has demonstrated strong performance, driven by increasing adoption, institutional interest, and key partnerships, while facing potential ...

Know More

Crypto In April 2025: Key Trends, Shifts, And What Comes Next

In April 2025, the crypto space focused on strengthening core infrastructure, with Ethereum preparing for the Pectra ...

Know More
Read More
Read more
Binance Releases ‘Monthly Market Insights’: Crypto Market Capitalization Increases By 9.9% In April, Bitcoin’s Market Share Reaches 63%
News Report Technology
Binance Releases ‘Monthly Market Insights’: Crypto Market Capitalization Increases By 9.9% In April, Bitcoin’s Market Share Reaches 63%
May 6, 2025
MYX Finance Opens MYX Airdrop Claims To Reward Early Supporters
News Report Technology
MYX Finance Opens MYX Airdrop Claims To Reward Early Supporters
May 6, 2025
Fraction AI Announces Mainnet Launch, Enabling Auto-Training For AI Agents
News Report Technology
Fraction AI Announces Mainnet Launch, Enabling Auto-Training For AI Agents
May 6, 2025
SWISS, Lufthansa Systems, And Camino Network Host Web3 Hackathon To Drive Innovation In Travel Industry
Business News Report Technology
SWISS, Lufthansa Systems, And Camino Network Host Web3 Hackathon To Drive Innovation In Travel Industry
May 6, 2025