Deepfake technology is becoming increasingly accessible and is being used to create fraudulent ads featuring celebrities like MrBeast, Tom Hanks, and CBS anchor Gayle King. The FTC has issued warnings about deepfake marketing, but regulating it at scale has proven difficult. As AI becomes more popular among investors and consumers, the potential consequences of deceptive advertising could become more severe, especially with global elections looming.
Key takeaways:
- A fraudulent ad featuring a deepfake of popular YouTuber MrBeast slipped past TikTok’s ad moderation technology and ended up on the platform.
- TikTok uses a mixture of human moderation and AI-aided technology to review ads before they post, but the AI behind the MrBeast deepfake managed to bypass this system.
- Other celebrities, including Tom Hanks and Gayle King, have also been deepfaked into fraudulent ads, indicating the growing problem of deceptive deepfakes.
- The FTC has issued warnings about deepfake marketing, but regulating this practice at scale has proven difficult, raising concerns about potential consequences in the context of global elections.