Fraudsters created a deepfake ad featuring Taylor Swift’s likeness in an attempt to extort money from her fans.
The AI-generated ad, which circulated online earlier this month, promoted a non-existent giveaway between the pop star and Le Creuset cookware.
The ad featured a synthetic version of Swift’s voice, combined with images of her and Le Creuset’s Dutch ovens, saying, “Hey everyone, this is Taylor Swift.” Due to a packaging error, we cannot sell the 3,000 Le Creuset pan sets, so I am giving them away for free to my loyal fans.’
Customers who clicked on the ad, which has since been removed from Facebook, would then be redirected to websites that mimic popular household platforms such as Food Network, according to the New York Times.
Sweepstakes participants would then be asked to pay a “small shipping fee of $9.96” to receive their free cookware. After paying, consumers were reportedly charged monthly charges and never received the cook set.
Le Creuset said it does not work with Swift, 34, on consumer giveaways and encouraged shoppers to check its official social media accounts before clicking on ads.
Fraudsters created a deepfake ad featuring Taylor Swift’s likeness in an attempt to extort money from her fans. The AI-generated ad, which circulated on Facebook earlier this month, promoted a non-existent giveaway between the pop star and Le Creuset cookware.
Taylor Swift is known to have an affinity for the high-end cookware brand. Le Crueset shared a photo of her cooking on her Facebook page in 2020, noting how the Dutch ovens made a cameo appearance (pictured) in her Netflix documentary Miss Americana
Actress Jamie King (not pictured) also gave Swift a Le Creuset set as a housewarming gift in 2014, according to the cookware brand
It appears the ad was originally posted on a Facebook page titled The Most Profitable Stocks.
The deepfaked version of Swift told “Swifties,” the term used to describe her fans, that she was “excited” to be giving away free Le Creuset sets.
After announcing the giveaway, the AI-generated Swift instructed viewers to immediately complete a survey to claim their prize, noting that “supplies were running low.”
The ad was viewed approximately 2,300 times before it was removed. A spokesperson for Meta, the platform’s parent company, confirmed this NBC News Wednesday that it had removed the ad.
Le Creuset denied any involvement in the promotion, telling the outlet, “Le Creuset is not involved with Taylor Swift for a consumer giveaway.
‘All approved Le Creuset giveaways or promotions come from Le Creuset’s official social accounts. Consumers should always check Le Creuset’s official social accounts and website before clicking on suspicious advertisements.”
AI experts believe the ad was likely created using a text-to-speech service that translates a script into a synthetic voice. The spoofed audio can then be incorporated into pre-existing video clips using lip sync programs.
“These tools are becoming very accessible today,” Dr. Siwei Lu, professor of computer science at the University at Buffalo, told the University at Buffalo. New York Times. “It’s becoming very easy and that’s why we’re seeing more and more of them.”
Dr. Lu added that AI technology allows users to create a decent quality video in less than 45 minutes.
Despite the ad, there is no indication that Swift is in any way associated with the ad Anti-Hero singer is known to have an affinity for the high-end cookware brand.
Actress Jamie King gave Swift a Le Creuset set as a housewarming gift in 2014. The singer was also spotted in a kitchen using the brand’s wares in hair Netflix documentary Miss Americana (2020).
MailOnline has contacted Le Creuset, Meta and a Swift spokesperson for comment.
There is no suggestion that Swift is in any way linked to the ad. The Anti-Hero singer arrives for dinner at hotspot Lucali in Brooklyn, New York City on Wednesday
Swift is the latest celebrity to be targeted by a deep fake ad. Last October, actor Tom Hanks warned his social media followers that his likeness was being used to promote “some dental scheme” that he “had nothing to do with.”
TV personality Gayle King made a similar post a day after Hanks alerted her fans that an AI deep fake had been created to promote a hawk product she did not endorse.
The fraudsters used a recent video that King posted to promote her radio show, but dubbed it with synthetic audio. The TV star told her followers not to be fooled by the ad.
That same week, YouTube personality James Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, took to X, formerly Twitter, to warn fans about a fake ad promoting a contest for an Apple iPhone 15.
Similarly, last November, Scarlett Johansson’s legal team demanded that Lisa AI, an app that creates avatars from images of real people, stop using her likeness in its online advertisement.
It’s because a new report has warned as much AI-powered fake news threatens to disrupt global elections, sparking violence and endangering press freedom.
According to a survey of 1,400 business leaders and experts, the spread of misinformation was cited as the biggest risk over the next two years.
Advances in artificial intelligence are making it harder to tell the difference between computer-generated content, such as deepfake videos, and reality.