MrBeast calls AI deepfakes a ‘serious problem’ after scam ad of Youtube star emerges – a day after Tom Hanks slammed fake advert using his image
- Millions of followers saw the YouTuber offering them iPhone 15s for $2
- But the hyper-realistic video was just an AI rendering of the social media star
- His warning came just hours after fellow celebrities Tom Hanks and Gale King warned followers not to be duped by AI versions of them
MrBeast has urged social media platforms to tackle a surge in AI deepfakes after fraudsters posted a phony video version of him to scam his millions of followers.
The world’s most popular YouTuber sounded the alarm over a scam posting on TikTok that appeared to show him offering free iPhone 15s to followers who clicked on a link.
But criminals had used Artificial Intelligence to create an animated avatar, virtually indistinguishable from the real thing.
The scam came to light just days after actor Tom Hanks and CNBS host Gayle King lashed out at deepfake images of themselves which advertisers created without permission.
‘Lots of people are getting this deepfake scam ad of me,’ tweeted MrBeast, real name James Donaldson, to his 24 million followers on Twitter, formerly X.
‘Are social media platforms ready to handle the rise of AI deepfakes? This is a serious problem.’
The MrBeast fake came just days after Tom Hanks warned of a bogus advert featuring him, appearing to show a young rendering of Hanks in a black shirt and suit jacket.
Gayle King too warned her Instagram followers that her voice has been spoofed on a weight loss company’s post
The bogus video appeared to show the influencer in a pink hoodie and black cap speaking persuasively to camera as subtitles ran underneath.
‘If you’re watching this video, you’re one of the 10,000 lucky people who’ll get an iPhone 15 Pro for just $2.
‘I’m MrBeast and I’m doing the world’s largest iPhone 15 giveaway, click the link below to claim yours now!’
Only his keenest fans might have been alerted by the avatar’s slightly odd blinking and jumpy delivery.
But the bogus giveaway was all the more believable because his genuine videos are based on extravagant stunts in which he offers lavish gifts to unwitting members of the public.
The 25-year-old from Witchita, Kansas, has amassed 188million subscribers on YouTube and more than 50 billion views since he started posting in 2012.
By 2018 he was donating $100,000 worth of products to a homeless shelter, and He has since repeated the dose to an Uber driver, a waitress, and people in parking lots.
In one video, he dropped $20,000 out of a drone and gave a pizza man the house he was delivering to as a tip.
Jimmy Donaldson – aka MrBeast – is already the world’s richest YouTuber, with an estimated net worth of more than $500million
His success has been built around extravagant stunts which set him apart from his rivals
Donaldson has also been quick to expand his empire and has struck a deal with Walmart to sell his chocolate bar, Feastables
The bogus video appeared to show the influencer in a pink hoodie and black cap speaking persuasively to camera as subtitles ran underneath, before inviting viewers to click on a link
A 14-time winner of the internet’s Streamy Awards he has branched out into smartphone apps, video game tournaments, restaurants, and his own food range earning an estimated $500million in the process.
The use of AI was at the heart of the 148-day screenwriters strike which paralyzed Hollywood earlier this summer in one of the first major labor battles over AI in the workplace.
But actors too are terrified over being replaced if studios use the technology to create new films from previous performances, while celebrities could discover virtual versions of themselves endorsing products they have never heard of.
Hanks, 67, posted to his 9.5million followers on Instagram to warn them about a dentist’s advert that had been created using a younger version of himself.
‘BEWARE!! There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it,’ the Oscar winner wrote on Sunday.
King, 68, was furious about a post which manipulated real footage of her radio show to make it appear she was endorsing weight-loss products from a company called Artipet.
‘People keep sending me this video and asking about this product and I have nothing to do with this company,’ she wrote on Instagram on Monday.
‘I posted this video promoting my radio show on August 31 (swipe to see the original), and they’ve manipulated my voice and video to make it seem like I’m promoting it.
In July it emerged that Sarah Silverman hopes to sue Meta and Chat GPT’s parent company Open AI over claims their AI language models were trained on her copyrighted material.
And earlier this month, several high profile authors including George R.R. Martin and Jodi Picoult partnered with The Authors Guild and announced they are suing Open AI for the same reason.
The Guild organized the class action lawsuit amid fears it could ‘decimate’ the writing professions.
Memory Man author David Baldacci, who is among the authors suing, also warned the use of AI in this way poses an ‘existential threat’ to the industry.
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