YouTube has deleted a thousand videos circulating on its platform that purportedly showed Taylor Swift, Steve Harvey and Joe Rogan pitch a Medicare scam, 404 Media reported today.
The videos that appeared to show the celebrities were not legitimate advertisements for Medicare plans that would help seniors get their healthcare needs.
Instead, they were what experts call artificial intelligence (AI) deepfakes using the celebrities' past videos and performances to create something that looked entirely plausible.
YouTube said it was "aware" that the platform was containing the fake advertisements with manufactured celebrity appearances and deleted more than 1,000 videos linked to the scams.
The videos had already collectively gained 200 million views, according to the 404 Media investigation, and there are likely still many more that have not been deleted yet.
Newsweek has reached out to representatives of Swift, Rogan and Harvey for comment via email.
A YouTube spokesperson confirmed the platform has terminated 90 YouTube channels and suspended multiple advertiser accounts.
"We are aware of a growing trend of ads, videos and channels that use celebrity likenesses in an attempt to scam or deceive users and have been investing heavily in our detection and enforcement against these practices," a YouTube spokesperson told Newsweek. "This effort is ongoing and we continue to remove ads and terminate channels."
AI has been used in many widespread deepfake videos. Beyond scams, one video is circulating that appears to show Donald Trump warning of the start of a third world war.
Meanwhile, others use AI versions of Jennifer Aniston asking for viewers to put in their financial information to score a free MacBook.
"It's clear that AI scams use deepfake technology to create highly realistic images or videos of celebrities," Darren Graham, the company director of 408 Media Group, told Newsweek.
"This technology leverages AI to manipulate or generate visual and audio content, making it seem like celebrities are saying or doing things they never actually did. They are believable due to the advanced level of AI algorithms that can mimic nuances of human expression and speech, leading to near-authentic representations."
While YouTube is in the process of clearing these artificial videos off its site, many worry that more will pop up in place of them.
In total, Google removed more than 142 million ads in 2022 for breaking its misrepresentation policy. These types of videos have also become prevalent on TikTok as well, where Swift's AI version has also been seen promising free cookware to unsuspecting fans.
Once users click for more information, they are often asked to input banking details to pay for the shipping on the otherwise "free" items. After this, the scammers continually charge the accounts to fleece the victims.
Now scammers can even replicate the voices of users' loved ones, further complicating users' belief of what they should be able to trust online.
How to Protect Yourself
The short answer of how to protect yourself online is now becoming: never trust what you hear—or what you see.
Experts say you should always check on a claim or advertisement with multiple trusted sources and remain vigilant against celebrity endorsements that pop up unexpectedly.
"It's extremely concerning to see AI voices being accessible for common users to forge identities," voice generation company Resemble AI CEO and founder Zohaib Ahmed told Newsweek.
"The latest research and development of AI models have made it easy for users to clone hyper-realistic voices with just a few seconds of audio and most consumers don't have the awareness or the education to notice the difference between audio that is AI-generated or not."
If you're unsure about a video, despite how real the celebrity appears in it, it's best to avoid acting on any claim they make.
"The best tip to avoid falling for such scams is to maintain a healthy skepticism. Always verify the source of any celebrity-endorsed content, especially if it seems out of character or promotes products, investments, or requests personal information," Joseph Harisson, the CEO of IT Companies Network, told Newsweek.
But there are some clear indicators you could be led astray, for instance, if you are only looking at a celebrity's head and shoulders in the video.
"If you only see a celebrity's head and shoulders, that's a red flag," David Notowitz, the president and founder of audio and video forensics company NCAVF, told Newsweek. "Right now, the technology isn't good enough yet to mimic other limbs."
Still, he warns that scammers are getting progressively better at figuring out how to manipulate this technology to their advantage.
"You'll notice the videos are very short as well. Every day, the technology is getting better, with some people trying to detect fake videos, and other people trying to trick the public with their newly designed AI deepfakes. Over time, it's going to be really hard to fight this. It's a cat and mouse game."
Update 1/26/24, 8:24 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from a YouTube spokesperson.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Suzanne Blake is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on consumer and social trends, spanning ... Read more
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