Richard Wilkins has denounced the “disturbing” trend of AI-generated imagery after a fake photo of him being “arrested” in a Sydney park was widely shared on Facebook.
The Channel Nine presenter was seen handcuffed by three police officers in a viral image that was either Photoshopped or generated using artificial intelligence.
While the image was clearly doctored, many social media users fell for it.
A visibly distraught Wilkins said Friday that “fake” photos involving celebrities may seem funny and harmless, 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 thought the arrest image was genuine.
Richard Wilkins has drawn attention to the ‘disturbing’ trend of AI-generated imagery after a fake photo of him being ‘arrested’ in a Sydney park was widely shared on Facebook.
The Channel Nine presenter was seen handcuffed 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 worrying because it was part of an elaborate financial scam targeting vulnerable Facebook users.
After host Sylvia Jeffreys commented that his own mother had seen the photo and it caught his attention, Wilkins said he had also been inundated with questions.
“I’ve gotten literally thousands of comments and messages from people all over the world saying, ‘Hey, what’s going on?'” he said.
“And while most people think it’s dubious and fake, these things lead to other things. These lead to [web] links, and have allegedly been sued by the Bank of Australia for giving incorrect financial advice.
‘He’s sending people links to where they can invest and stuff. The idea of someone losing [money] or investing in something I’ve supposedly recommended is what really bothers me.’
A visibly distraught Wilkins (right, with former Facebook Australia chief executive Stephen Scheeler) said on Friday that ‘fake’ photos involving celebrities may seem funny and harmless, 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 it caught her eye, Wilkins said she had received hundreds of messages “from all over the world” from fans who thought she was the arrest photo was genuine.
He continued: “It went from being kind of funny to pretty annoying and really disturbing.”
Wilkins suspected he was in the spotlight because “in Australia I have a reasonably identifiable face” and any suggestion that he was involved in a scandal “would turn into a frenzy”.
“People clearly have too much free time to do this kind of thing, because it seems real,” he added.
Stephen Scheeler, former chief executive of Facebook Australia, said high-profile incidents of celebrity deepfakes were becoming more common.
He warned that technology is becoming so advanced that fake videos and voice clips are circulating that are almost identical to the people they are impersonating.
“We are entering a new era now where it’s almost impossible for humans to tell the difference… and it’s only going to get worse,” said Mr Scheeler.
Wilkins said Nine’s legal department had flagged the AI images to Facebook’s parent company Meta “months ago” but nothing had been done.
Scheeler suggested that the problem was caused by insufficient human resources at social media companies to deal with scams and misinformation.
“My experience on social media platforms is that they are full of good people, but there are only so many of them and their platforms are gigantic,” he said.
It comes after Wilkins spoke with Ben Fordham from 2GB live about the false image of the arrest on Thursday morning.
I don’t know what to do about it. This has been going on for some time,’ she said.
‘Never happened. It’s complete BS. The idea of someone investing in something because I was recommending it is quite disturbing, and I would hate to think that is happening,” she added.
Wilkins (right, with son Christian) called out lawyers about the fake arrest photo
In the fake viral image that circulated last week, the Weekend Today presenter looks alarmed as he is arrested and handcuffed by police officers in a Sydney park.
Two of the policemen hold him by the arms while a third appears to be filing a report.
But the photo wasn’t all it appeared to be: The realistic image was actually an AI-generated image with Wilkins’ face superimposed on the body of a criminal.
His son Christian Wilkins alerted his Instagram followers to the fake photo last Friday, assuring fans that his father had not been arrested.
She also made a light-hearted joke about her father’s fashion choices, saying, “For those wondering, yes, these posts are fake.”
“There’s no way Richard Wilkins would be seen without wearing skinny jeans.”
In the fake viral image that circulated last week, the Weekend Today presenter looks alarmed as he is arrested and handcuffed by police officers in a Sydney park.