GREENVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA: YouTube star MrBeast has raised the question of whether social media platforms are ready to deal with fake AI ads following a scam ad on TikTok that featured a deepfake of him offering $2 iPhones.
In deepfakes, a person's face is swapped out for someone else's, usually a celebrity, in the AI-generated media. Deepfake photos and videos are now increasingly difficult to detect because of the advancements in technology.
MrBeast’s AI deepfake scam ad
In the ad, an AI deepfake version of MrBeast can be seen saying, “If you’re watching this video, you’re one of the 10,000 lucky people who will get an iPhone 15 Pro for just $2." It adds, "I’m MrBeast and I’m doing the world’s largest iPhone 15 giveaway. Click the link below to claim yours now.”
MrBeast also posted the video on his X account with the caption, “Lots of people are getting this deepfake scam ad of me… are social media platforms ready to handle the rise of AI deepfakes? This is a serious problem.”
Since then, TikTok has taken down the advertisement.
NBC News reported that a spokesperson for the platform, who declined to comment, did point to the platform's advertising regulations which state that, "Synthetic or manipulated media showing realistic scenes must be clearly disclosed or labeled in the video."
The MrBeast advertisement highlights the increasing realism of AI deepfakes and how deceiving they can be, despite certain lip-sync problems where the manner in which the mouth moves isn't in tune with what is being spoken.
In the lower-left corner, where a genuine verified account would ordinarily show, the clip also had the branding and a username with a confirmed checkmark of MrBeast whose real name is JImmy Donaldson.
An image promoting the giveaway, designed to appear as if it was from Donaldson's Instagram account, was also shown on the linked website. On Donaldson's verified Instagram account page, no such posts are visible.
Fans react to MrBeast's deepfake
The video shared by MrBeast on his official X account has received comments from various fans who have been scammed through this AI deepfake ad scam.
A fan commented, “I just sent Mr. Beastie $200 on VENMO.. where's my iPhone 15 Max Pro?” whereas another fan mentioned, “Me to.. I just sent him $200”.
Several such comments popped up on X (formerly Twitter), pointing out how easy it was to pull off such scams like one tweet that read, “Getting verified on tiktok is as easy as taking a nap,” and, “if you are getting scammed by AI deepfake Mr Beast you deserved it."
A fan also wrote, “I’m not gonna lie that’s pretty impressive that they can even do that. it’s just how stupid people are to fall for that”.
