In the same week that we bring you the case of the fake Tom Hanks selling dental insurance on social media, another celebrity is back in the spotlight due to their involuntary participation in an AI-generated hoax.
Known as “deepfakes,” these kinds of creations use various AI tools to impersonate the image and even the voice of various individuals, especially celebrities, making them say and do almost anything the creators can imagine. Who has been the victim this time? None other than the popular MrBeast.
Posted as an ad on TikTok, a now-removed video showed a supposed MrBeast conducting a “giveaway” of 10,000 iPhone 15 Pro in exchange for a $2 entry fee. The video not only featured MrBeast’s logo but also displayed his name alongside a blue verification symbol (embedded in the video).
Although many TikTok users, primarily a younger audience, did not fall for the deception and even pointed out in the comments that it was “obvious” it was a deepfake created with AI, the truth is, for many middle-aged people, these kinds of scams are not as apparent.
Similar to Tom Hanks, MrBeast also warned on his social media that this video had nothing to do with him and was a scam: “Lots of people are getting this deepfake scam ad of me… Are social media platforms ready to handle the increase in AI-generated deepfakes? It’s a serious problem.”
Technically, TikTok prohibits in its guidelines all “synthetic media that contain the likeness (visual or auditory) of a real person.” But one thing is what the rules say, and another is the speed in moderating content that violates them.
With the rapid advancement of AI technology, social media platforms must step up their game to curb a new type of scams that are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
