In February 2019, MIT Technology Review published an article on the “hipster effect,” a Brandeis University study explaining why nonconformists ironically converge on similar styles like beards and flannels. A stock Getty photo of a bearded man in a beanie illustrated the piece, sparking unintended drama.

An angry reader emailed, accusing the magazine of slander and unauthorized use of his image in the “clickbait” story, threatening legal action. Editors verified the license with Getty, discovering the model's name didn't match—proving the complainant wasn't him, hilariously validating the article's thesis on hipster uniformity.
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