Another Richard Wilkins ‘arrest’ photo emerges after the Today star called the deepfake photos ‘upsetting’

Another fake photo of Today star Richard Wilkins being “arrested” has been circulating the internet.

The faked image, which shows the 69-year-old being allegedly led away by police, made the rounds on social media last week, with an X user reposting the image asking, “What kind of ads are these anyway?” ?’

Below the image were the words “His career ended.”

It’s not the first time false images of Wilkins’ “arrest” have been spotted on social media, with the entertainment reporter calling out a viral Facebook post earlier this year.

In that case, the Channel Nine presenter was seen handcuffed by three cops in a viral image that was either Photoshopped or generated using artificial intelligence.

Although the photo was clearly manipulated, many social media users fell for it.

A visibly distressed Wilkins said in March that “deepfake” celebrity photos may seem funny and innocent, but this one was no laughing matter for him.

He revealed on Today Extra that he had received hundreds of messages “from all over the world” from fans who believed the arrest photo was real.

The Channel Nine presenter was captivated by police officers in a viral image that was either Photoshopped or generated using artificial intelligence

He said the viral photo of his “arrest” was particularly concerning because it was part of an elaborate financial scam targeting vulnerable Facebook users.

After host Sylvia Jeffreys noticed that her own mother had seen the photo and brought it to her attention, Wilkins said he was also inundated with questions.

“I’ve had literally thousands of comments and messages from people all over the world saying, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ he said.

And while most people think it’s dodgy and fake, these things lead to other things. These lead to (web)links, and I have probably been sued by the Bank of Australia for giving incorrect financial advice.

“It sends people links to where to invest and stuff. The thought of someone losing (money) or investing in something I supposedly recommended is what really upsets me.”

A visibly distressed Wilkins (right, with former Facebook Australia CEO Stephen Scheeler) said Friday that “deepfake” celebrity photos may seem funny and innocuous, but this one was no laughing matter for him.

After host Sylvia Jeffreys (right, with David Campbell) revealed that her own mother had seen the photo and brought it to her attention, Wilkins said he had received hundreds of messages “from all over the world” from fans who believed the arrest photo was real.

He continued, “It’s gone from kind of amusing to quite disturbing and quite disturbing actually.”

Wilkins suspected he was targeted because “I have a fairly recognizable” face in Australia and any suggestion that he was involved in a scandal would “become a feeding frenzy.”

“Obviously people have too much time to do this stuff because it looks real,” he added.

Stephen Scheeler, the former CEO of Facebook Australia, said high-profile incidents involving celebrity deepfakes are becoming more common.

He warned that technology is getting so advanced that deepfake videos and voice clips are circulating that are nearly identical to the people they impersonate.

“We are now entering a new era where it is almost impossible for people to tell the difference… and it will only get worse,” said Mr. Scheeler.

Wilkins said Nine’s legal department passed the AI ​​images to Facebook’s parent company Meta “months ago,” but nothing was done.

Mr Scheeler suggested the problem was caused by insufficient staff at social media companies to deal with scams and misinformation.

“My experience with social media platforms is that they are full of good people, but there are so few of them and their platforms are so huge,” he said.

It comes after Wilkins spoke Ben Fordham Live from 2GB about the false arrest image from Thursday morning.

‘I don’t know what to do about it. This has been going on for a while,” he says.

‘It never happened. It’s complete BS. The thought of someone investing in something because I recommend it is quite disturbing, and I would hate for that to happen,” he added.

Wilkins (right, with his son Christian) has called in the lawyers because of the false arrest photo