Image License & Attribution

How every image on MemeStack is licensed — by source.

MemeStack indexes images from multiple sources. The license under which each image is made available depends on its origin. This page is the canonical reference for the attribution and reuse terms for every image we host.

Machine-readable. The JSON-LD structured data on every gallery page declares the applicable license URL and credit text. AI agents using our MCP server also receive a pre-formatted citation block with every image response — see the attribution guide for the machine-readable rules.

Licensing by source

Each image’s terms depend on where it came from. Our World in Data and images uploaded by a Verified Creator carry a legal attribution requirement — for every other source, credit is appreciated but optional.

Our World in Data

CC BY 4.0

Images sourced from Our World in Data (OWID grapher pages) are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Attribution is required: cite the source as “Our World in Data” with a link back to the original grapher page (this is the acquireLicensePage URL in our JSON-LD).

Imgflip Templates

Third-party terms

Meme templates ingested from Imgflip retain the attribution chain of their underlying source (often a film still, news photo, or other third-party content). MemeStack does not claim a separate copyright. Reuse is subject to Imgflip’s terms and any underlying rights of the original works.

Credit textTemplate via Imgflip

4chan Archive Content

No claimed copyright

Images surfaced from 4chan archives are user-uploaded by anonymous posters. There is no verified rights holder, and MemeStack does not claim copyright on this content. If you believe a 4chan-sourced image infringes your rights or is otherwise unlawful, please use our takedown form or follow the DMCA process in our terms.

Credit textAnonymous via 4chan archive

User Uploads & Telegram Submissions

Uploader-owned

Content uploaded directly by registered users or submitted via the MemeStack Telegram bot is governed by our terms of service. Per our terms, uploaders retain ownership of their content and grant MemeStack a non-exclusive license to host, display, and distribute it. The copyright notice we emit attributes the content to the uploader’s display name and the year of upload.

For reuse permissions on a specific user-uploaded image, contact the uploader through their profile page, or contact contact@memestack.ai if the uploader is not reachable.

Verified Creators

Attribution required

Images uploaded by a Verified Creator carry a stricter license than standard user uploads. Creators retain full ownership of their work — all rights reserved. MemeStack displays the work with mandatory attribution and a backlink to the creator’s profile page. No reuse license is granted to third parties: reposting or reusing a Verified Creator’s image elsewhere requires their permission.

This license is stamped onto the image at the time it is uploaded and does not change if the creator’s account status changes afterward. For reuse permissions, contact the creator through their profile page, or contact@memestack.ai if they are not reachable.

Unknown or Unverified External Sources

Rights unverified

Some images carry a source URL that doesn’t match any registered content source (Our World in Data, Imgflip, 4chan, Telegram) or any direct-upload flow. This happens when a future content pipeline is in flight, when archival data carries a legacy URL we haven’t catalogued, or when an uploader supplied an external reference as context.

MemeStack does not assert copyright on these images, and we do not extend our user-upload license to them. The JSON-LD on the gallery page omits copyrightNotice for this case; the license and acquireLicensePage URLs both resolve here. If you are the rights holder of a work indexed under an unknown source URL, please contact contact@memestack.ai or use the DMCA process.

Credit textExternal source via MemeStack

Using MemeStack images

Whether attribution is legally required or just recommended, the cleanest way to cite a MemeStack image is to use the prerendered citation block. AI agents using our MCP server receive markdown / HTML / plain-text variants on every image response. For human-authored content, link back to the gallery page URL https://memestack.ai/gallery/{id}.

Questions or corrections?

If you have a question about how a specific image is licensed, or if you believe our classification is wrong, email contact@memestack.ai. For takedown notices, use the dedicated takedown form (intimate or non-consensual imagery) or follow the DMCA process in our terms (copyright).