Instagram AI celebrity deepfakes are drawing millions of views

In short: AI-made photos and videos that look like real celebrities are spreading widely on social media, and they can be hard to spot.

What's going on

A new report from The Verge says fake celebrity images made with AI are getting millions of views on social platforms. These fakes are often called “deepfakes”, which means media that has been altered or created to look like a real person (like a realistic mask you can put on a photo or video).

One example involved actress Mia Goth. An Instagram account posted an image that appeared to show Goth after news of her divorce, wearing a shirt that said “MY EX IS MY BIGGEST FAN.” The post also used Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” to underline the message.

The post spread quickly. The account, @miagoth_, had more than a million followers and a blue verified checkmark. The image received nearly 500,000 likes, including likes from people in the entertainment industry, even though the page was labeled as a fan account.

According to The Verge, the image was AI-generated. Goth’s representative said they had complained to Instagram before about “counterfeit, AI images” of her. The representative also criticized Instagram for allowing a fan account to meet the requirements for a blue check, especially while posting manipulated images.

What to watch

This case adds pressure on social platforms to label AI-made content more clearly and to respond faster when public figures report fakes. It also raises questions about paid verification, since a checkmark can look like proof that an account is official when it is not.

Source: The Verge AI