I was doing some research to see whether the Photo Directory accepts AI-generated images. I couldn’t find an answer in the guidelines or the handbook, but it has come up a few times in the Photos Slack channel:

• In November 2023, @lanche86 and @otto42 replied that generated images aren’t photos, so they aren’t accepted.
• In April 2026, a contributor asked how to appeal a “Not a photo” rejection and offered their RAW files. There was no reply.
• Later in April, @yamchhetri asked contributors not to submit AI-generated images, only original photos.
• In August 2026, @yamchhetri noted more AI-generated submissions and asked for real photos only.
• Also in August, a contributor who said their photo was declined for AI asked how to appeal. @otto42 pointed them to photos@wordpress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/, and @nilovelez asked for samples, since the image is deleted when a photo is rejected.

The rule is clear in SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/, but AI isn’t named anywhere a contributor sees before submitting, from what I can find:

• The guidelines say a submission must be a photograph and not a screenshot or digital art, with no mention of AI.
• The upload checklist says “Photo is an actual photograph and not a screenshot or digital art.”
• The “Not a photo” rejection email says “We do not accept screenshots, digital art, or other non-photographic images,” with nothing specific to AI.
• The handbook and the FAQ don’t cover AI or how to appeal a rejection.

I’d like to propose four changes. They cover fully generated images. AI editing, like upscaling or generative fill, is a separate question.

• Guidelines: change “Avoid submitting screenshots, digital art, or some other kind of non-photographic image” to “Avoid submitting screenshots, digital art, AI-generated images, or some other kind of non-photographic image.”
• Upload checklist: change the checkbox to “Photo is an actual photograph and not AI-generated, a screenshot, or digital art.” This could fold into the August discussion about simplifying the checklist.
• Rejection reasons: either add AI to the existing “Not a photo” reason, so the email reads “We do not accept screenshots, digital art, AI-generated images, or other non-photographic images,” or add a separate “AI-generated” reason if moderators want to track it on its own.
• Appeals: add a line to the FAQ’s “Why was my photo declined?” entry saying contributors who think a rejection was a mistake can reply to the rejection email and attach the photo, since the image is deleted on rejection.

Two questions for the team:

• Do these match how you moderate today?
• Is there anything you’d word differently?

The checklist and rejection reasons live in the Photo Directory code, so those two changes need a MetaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. TracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/. ticket or a pull request to WordPress/wordpress.org. I’m happy to open it once the wording settles, if you’d like.