Scammers are using AI-generated videos of celebrities including Taylor Swift and Rihanna to promote suspicious services on TikTok, according to authentication firm Copyleaks.
The ads typically feature celebrities in interviews, such as on red carpets, podcasts or talk shows, and often manipulate real footage using artificial intelligence, the company said. Many people are promoting rewards programs and claiming that users can earn money by watching TikTok content and giving opinions. TikTok’s official branding appears in some ads, though users are redirected to third-party services that request personal information.
In one ad, Swift’s real-life AI avatar urges users to sign up for a feature called TikTok Pay. In another message, the fake Rihanna says: “You literally watch the content and express your opinion.”
It’s another example of how social platforms are struggling to keep up with a wave of convincing deepfakes, which have become a chaotic daily problem for users. TikTok isn’t alone here. Users of Meta platforms, including Instagram and Facebook, reportedly see billions of fraudulent ads daily, and the company’s own oversight board has acknowledged it has a deepfakes problem. YouTube also says it is “investing heavily” in combating fraudulent celebrity ads.
Celebrities are also looking for new ways to fight back: Last week, Swift filed new trademark applications for her audio clips in an attempt to protect herself from AI imitators.
