Report says AI-made TikTok sellers pose as Black creators to sell goods

In short: A new report says some TikTok shop videos use AI-made fake Black “creators” and sad stories to sell cheap, mass-produced products.

What's going on

The Verge reports that some TikTok seller accounts appear to be using AI-generated people, meaning the person in the video is not real and is created by software (like a digital puppet). These videos often show someone crying or asking viewers to support a small business.

One example in the report is a TikTok account featuring a woman named “Aliyah,” who appears in country-western clothing and claims she makes belt buckles by hand. The video includes on-screen text that references being a Black woman and asks people to watch longer to help her business.

The report says “Aliyah” is likely not a real person, and the products do not appear to be handmade. The Verge notes that similar belt buckles are sold on Shein for much less money. This fits a common online selling method called dropshipping, where a seller markets an item, but the product is shipped from a separate supplier.

The Verge points to clues that suggest the videos are computer-made, like a robotic-sounding voice that does not match the facial expression, odd actions like sewing where sewing would not make sense, and repeated video setups across multiple accounts. The report also says many near-identical videos circulate with different AI-generated characters.

What to watch

Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook may face more pressure to label or remove fake seller videos, especially when they use race or emotional manipulation to push sales. For shoppers, it may become more important to double-check who is behind a “small business” story and to compare prices across sites before buying.

Source: The Verge AI