MrBeast’s ad on AI deepfake appears on TikTok

Written By: Aniqa Batool
Last Updated On: October 5, 2023

AI deepfakes are becoming so sophisticated that a bogus MrBeast commercial made it past TikTok’s ad moderation algorithm and into the platform.

The highly influential designer appeared to be offering 10,000 viewers an iPhone 15 Pro for just $2 in the advertisement. In most circumstances, this would be a dead giveaway of a hoax, but coming from MrBeast, it could be plausible.

MrBeast (a 25-year-old named Jimmy Donaldson who has the most subscribers on YouTube) rose to prominence by filming increasingly ludicrous stunt videos in which he gives people free homes and automobiles with no strings attached (as long as they agree to appear in his video). Or, more recently, he’ll invite folks from “every country on Earth” to compete in a series of Olympic-style mini-games for a $250,000 reward.

To be kind, this could explain how they accepted the AI deepfakes commercial. TikTok reviews advertising before they are posted using a combination of human moderation and – paradoxically – AI-aided technology. So, in essence, TikTok’s AI battled and lost against the AI deepfakes behind this MrBeast deepfake.

TikTok told TechCrunch that the ad was withdrawn shortly after it was released because it violated TikTok’s advertising regulations. TikTok does not completely restrict advertising from using modified or synthetic media, however, the platform needs advertisers to clearly declare whether they are employing this type of technology.

Deepfakes audios aren’t new, but as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly popular among investors and consumers alike, the technology is becoming more accessible than ever. While internet celebrities like MrBeast appeal to younger generations, elderly shoppers are often duped. Only this week, actor Tom Hanks and CBS anchor Gayle King both cautioned their followers that they are being duped into clicking on phony ads.

TikTok is not alone in its use of AI deepfakes to limit commercials. Meta claims to rely “primarily on automated technology,” yet, like TikTok, it employs human reviewers to train its AI and occasionally manually examines adverts.

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