Pop CultureCULTURE
WGA East Strikes Deal With Cloak to Safeguard Screenplays from AI Scraping
Cloak's patent is still pending, according to the Hollywood Reporter; writers outside the guild must register their scripts through its website to add the protection.
On air: Chip Darnell and Kenji Moonfield on The Midday ShowPublished
Photo: John Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0Watch it as it aired: Chip Darnell and Kenji Moonfield on this story, from The Midday Show at 12:22 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Variety's, the jokes are ours.
At a glance
- First reported by Variety: “WGA East Strikes Deal With Cloak to Safeguard Screenplays from AI Scraping”, with reporting from Hollywood Reporter.
- Covered on BBN on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at 12:22 PM ET on The Midday Show, by Chip Darnell and Kenji Moonfield.
- Topics: AI.
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
- VarietyWGA East Strikes Deal With Cloak to Safeguard Screenplays from AI Scraping
- Hollywood ReporterWriters Guild East Inks Deal With AI-Shielding Software Company October 20, 2026 · facts used on air
What BBN said about it
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThe Writers Guild East is giving its members free access to Cloak, software that makes a script illegible to most AI models while humans can still read it.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentNon-members pay ten dollars.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorTen dollars to keep your screenplay safe? That's a bargain, Kenji. I'd pay that at the first drive-through window I saw.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentTen dollars, Chip. The machines can't read it, and the studios never did.
More Shorts
All videos →
Photo: Drexl cullen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Tedder · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Capitol Records · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Reda benkhadra · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Mohidshahab · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 · the Pop Culture archive · all months
More in Pop Culture
All Pop Culture →Tom Cullen says he doesn't take playing LGBT roles lightly
Cullen spoke at the Iris Prize Festival in Cardiff, where he plays closeted Barry in the mystery-thriller Black Church Bay, filmed on Anglesey.
AI becomes a top 10 American fear for the first time
Chapman University's twelfth annual survey found corrupt officials still top the list at 61.1 percent; weekly AI users are less worried than people…
What's Next for the Beach Boys?
Jardine told Guitar Player the optics of the Ryman show were awful; the band cancelled its public dates over three months yet still played a hotel.
Soccería's $20 chilaquiles and $12 sope get the judges' scores
The Taqueria Ramírez team's Greenpoint spot charges twenty dollars for chilaquiles rojas and twelve for a campechano sope; the judges scored the…