'Deepfake' warning after Michael Mosley's likeness used to promote scams

ok.co.uk:

Social media fraudsters are exploiting the fame of the late Dr Michael Mosley to peddle health products, according to an investigation by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).The Telegraph reports that disturbing AI-generated 'deepfake' videos featuring Dr Mosley, Hilary Jones and Rangan Chatterjee have emerged on social media.The TV doctor, who tragically died on the Greek island of Symi in June, appears alongside his fellow doctors in bogus footage endorsing a variety of dubious items, including blood pressure and diabetes medications and hemp gummies.

Retired doctor John Cormack said: "The bottom line is, it's much cheaper to spend your cash on making videos than it is on doing research and coming up with new products and getting them to market in the conventional way." Deepfake expert Henry Ajder has noted a "significant increase" in this type of activity due to advancements in artificial intelligence tools in recent years.

Deepfake videos have been around for some time, with recent examples featuring Minecraft videos of fake 'Nigel Farage' and 'Sir Keir Starmer' playing pranks on each other ahead of the general election.

However, they've also been used for more malicious purposes, such as by Russia to destabilise political situations and war-torn countries, and by criminals to create deeply disturbing fake sexual images, reports the Mirror.