Celebrities Piers Morgan and Oprah Winfrey victims of “deepfake” scandal in controversial influencer ads

A series of online advertisements promoting a self-help course called the “Genie Script” are coming under fire for using deepfake technology to falsely imply endorsements from high-profile figures like Piers Morgan, Nigella Lawson and Oprah Winfrey.As reported by BBC, the ads are selling a $37 manifestion course created by Wesley “Billion Dollar” Virgin, a self-described motivational coach with over 1 million Instagram followers who claim the 20-word Genie Script comes from a “missing” Hebrew Bible scripture.The manipulated ads feature the celebrities attributing their success and wealth directly to Virgin’s guidance and the Genie Script.Adverts made these celebrities credit Wesley for the successThe advert manipulated footage of Nigella Lawson discussing her recipes and experiences, overlaying an indistinguishable AI-generated voice attributing her success to Wesley Virgin’s guidance. The AI voice claimed that Virgin’s script unlocked the secret to manifestation, promoting a daily mantra for transformative results.Another deepfake advert mimicked a part from the Piers Morgan uncensored TV show. The manipulated voice spoke of a “lost old scripture” used by kings for riches, healing and love. Piers Morgan condemned the trend, emphasising the worrying misuse of public figures by deepfake AI manipulators solely for financial gain, highlighting the potential harm to unsuspecting consumers.An additional deepfake featuring Oprah Winfrey surfaced on Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram. In this case, genuine footage was overlaid with AI-generated dialogue, falsely presenting Winfrey endorsing Virgin’s product. The real Oprah vehemently distanced herself, emphasising the intent to protect consumers from false associations and AI misuse in advertising.YouTube has taken down the videosRepresentatives for Morgan, Lawson and Winfrey have strongly condemned the ads, stating they have no association with Virgin or his product. Digital forensics expert Hany Farid confirmed the manipulated videos are deepfakes. The ads violate YouTube’s policies prohibiting doctored content and have since been removed from the platform and hence they have been taken down.Virgin initially claimed the ads were created independently by “affiliates” who earn commissions by helping him make sales. But Virgin actively recruits and mentors teams online to aggressively market his courses across social media, often using dubious claims about the script’s origins and efficacy.Theology professor Nathan McDonald debunked assertions that the script comes from a recently auctioned, extremely rare 11th century Hebrew Bible. Videos also promote seemingly antisemitic claims about Jewish wealth and prosperity gospel notions. Outrage from featured celebrities and policy violations have prompted Digistore24 to end its business relationship with Virgin.