AI-powered deepfakes are becoming so effective that a fraudulent MrBeast ad escaped TikTok’s ad moderation technology to end up on the platform.
In the A.Dthe hugely influential creator appeared to offer 10,000 viewers an iPhone 15 Pro for just $2. In most cases, this would be a clear indication of a scam, but coming from MrBeast, it might actually be credible.
MrBeast (a 25-year-old named Jimmy Donaldson with more subscribers than any other individual on YouTube) has become famous by creating increasingly absurd stunt videos in which he offers people free houses and cars with no strings attached (as long as they agree to be in his video). . Or, more recently, he will ask people from “every country on Earth” to compete for a $250,000 prize in a series of Olympic-style minigames.
So if you’re not particularly aware of scams and are scrolling through TikTok late at night when you’re not thinking straight, it might be within the realm of possibility that MrBeast would buy 10,000 iPhones to give away via the TikTok ad. . After all, him literally gave away free iPhones to unsuspecting trick-or-treaters.
A lot of people are getting this deepfake scam ad from me… are social media platforms ready to handle the rise of AI deepfakes? This is a serious problem pic.twitter.com/llkhxswQSw
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) October 3, 2023
To be charitable, this might explain how the deepfake ad got approved on TikTok. TikTok uses a mix of human moderation and, ironically, AI-assisted technology to review ads before they go live. So basically, TikTok’s AI fought against the AI behind this deepfake of MrBeast and lost.
TikTok told RockedBuzz that it removed the ad within hours of posting because it violated TikTok’s advertising policies. TikTok doesn’t entirely ban advertisers from using synthetic or manipulated media, but the platform requires that advertisers very clearly state whether they’re using this type of technology.
TikTok is not unique in using artificial intelligence to moderate advertising. Half He says It relies “primarily on automated technology,” but similar to TikTok, uses human reviewers to train its AI and sometimes manually reviews ads.
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Deceptive deepfakes are nothing new, but as artificial intelligence becomes especially trendy among both investors and consumers, access to the technology is becoming easier than ever. While popular Internet celebrities like MrBeast target younger generations, older consumers are also being deceived. Just this week, actor Tom Hanks and CBS host Gayle King both warned their followers that they were being turned into fraudulent ads.
“ATTENTION!!” wrote Tom Hanks Instagram. “There’s a video out there promoting a dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with this.
The FTC has already issued warnings on deepfake marketing, but the practice has proven difficult to regulate on a large scale. And as global elections approach, the consequences of this false advertising could become more dire.
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