If you’ve seen an ad on Facebook lately featuring Taylor Swift talking up Le Creuset cookware, beware — it’s a fake.
Swift is the latest celebrity to find herself at the centre of a deepfake scam.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Taylor Swift the latest celebrity to get deepfaked.
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The bogus ad uses AI to fake Tay-Tay’s face and voice as she extols the virtues of Le Creuset, with fans told they could win a free cookware set from the pricey brand.
“In several ads, Ms Swifts cloned voice addressed ‘Swifties’ … and said she was thrilled to be handing out free cookware sets,” The New York Times reported.
“All people had to do was click on a button and answer a few questions before the end of the day.”
Le Creuset said it had played no part in the deepfake ads and urged its customers to be careful about which links they clicked on when browsing social media.
Swift’s likeness was probably used because she has a known fondness for the Le Creuset brand.
Her collection of Le Creuset cookware even features on a Tumblr account dedicated to her home decor, so it would be easy for fans to assume the deepfake ad is legitimate.
But Swift is just one in a long and ever-growing list of celebrities to suffer the fate of being used for AI-created scams.
In October last year, actor Tom Hanks, journalist Gayle King and YouTuber Mr Beast were all subjected to AI scams involving fake ads for dental plans, iPhone giveaways and so on.
As AI develops and deepfake videos begin to look more and more realistic, the problem is unlikely to go away any time soon.
Experts say the Taylor Swift scam involved AI technology which created a synthetic version of the singer’s voice cobbled together from footage of her, alongside clips showing Le Creuset items.
Representatives for Swift have not yet commented on the scam.
Siwei Lyu, a computer science professor at the University of Buffalo in the US, told The New York Times it was getting easier and faster to create deepfake videos.
“These tools are becoming very accessible these days,” Dr Lye said, adding it was now possible to make a “decent-quality video” in under 45 minutes.
“It’s becoming very easy, and that’s why we’re seeing more.”
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