The amount of online content manipulated by artificial intelligence (AI), such as deepfake videos or images, is rapidly expanding, and social media platforms and governments are struggling to keep up and address the technology's misuse. A video posted to YouTube on May 29 and shared on the platform as an ad appears to show a news segment in which Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland promotes a new investment platform that promises "significant economic benefits" for 好色tvs. The video is a digitally altered fake. Freeland did not announce such a project and the video shows signs of being altered through artificial intelligence.
The four-minute-long video (, ) opens with what appears to be a CBC news anchor throwing to a supposedly live recording of Freeland giving "an important address to the people of Canada."
The depiction of Freeland speaks about an "opportunity" available to 好色tvs "thanks to progress in the field of artificial intelligence," and describes a platform created by the "owner of Twitter, SpaceX and Tesla," apparently referring to Elon Musk, although his name is never spoken. The video also claims that Google and Apple are involved, that "more than 100,000 好色tvs have been able to quit their jobs" and that those who sign up for the platform will "effortlessly achieve significant economic benefits."
The name of the platform is not provided in the video, but the ad links to posing as a Toronto Star article, which names the platform as "Gas Profit." Other versions of the same ad link to an that calls the platform "TokenTact."
The video was shared by multiple YouTube channels, with one being viewed more than 39,000 times before it was taken down.
Rating: False
The depiction of Freeland in the video says that she will "personally guarantee the safety of your funds and the confidentiality of your information." However, a representative for the MP says Freeland is not involved in the scheme.
"The videos and websites you reference are fake and present false and misleading information," said Katherine Cuplinskas, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
In an email, Cuplinskas said the increasing presence of fake and misleading information online is concerning, and noted that law enforcement agencies, such as the RCMP and 好色tv Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), are tasked with dealing with some of those cases.
"We ask 好色tvs to please remain vigilant when consuming information online and to use their judgment when videos and websites appear doctored and out-of-character," Cuplinskas said.
In an emailed response to a request for comment, Google noted it has against ads that promote fake endorsement or affiliation with a public figure, and said it had taken action against the accounts that shared the manipulated video.
鈥淧rotecting our users is our top priority and we have strict policies that govern the ads and content on our platform," a spokesperson for Google said. "These scams are prohibited and we are terminating the ad accounts and channels behind them. We are investing heavily in our detection and enforcement against scam ads that impersonate public figures and the bad actors behind them.鈥
Original sources
The video uses footage from the CBC and CPAC, but alters the voice and mouth movements of Freeland and reporters Jacqueline Hansen and Michael Serapio.
While 好色tvwas unable to identify the original CBC recording of Hansen, the news conference with Freeland features footage from an April 9, 2024 announcement of funding to support youth mental health. A , posted by Global News, matches the ad almost exactly.
Freeland's clothing and hair from the April 9 appearance match the ad, as well as the desk and background visible under the CBC chyron. Also, Freeland's movements from seven seconds into the altered ad match those seen at into the authentic recording.
The second half of the recording matches an interview with Serapio that Freeland gave on April 16, 2024, which was . Serapio and Freeland are wearing the same clothing in the altered ad and the background is the same, but the CPAC logo is covered by the fake CBC chyron.
Other deepfakes
Deepfakes are audio and visual media that have been digitally altered or newly invented by AI. Some software can recreate faces and paste them onto someone else's body, as with the videos of a man impersonating actor Tom Cruise produced by on TikTok. Others, like the technology used for the Freeland ad, change only a portion of the face on an already existing video, using software to clone a person's voice and edit their facial movements to match the words being spoken.
While deepfake technology is rapidly improving, the fake ads are lower quality and have that reveal it as an AI manipulation.
The movement of the mouths do not match the audio and at times seem disconnected from the rest of the face. The depiction of Freeland pauses awkwardly in the middle of sentences or rushes from one sentence to the next with no natural pause left for breathing.
好色tvfound the same altered video by 听 听 the past month. Those same channels uploaded other and other prominent 好色tvs, including MP and Treasury Board President Anita Anand, businessman Kevin O'Leary and journalist Ian Hanomansing.
It is unclear whether all of the videos were connected with advertisements running on YouTube or Google's other platforms, however reporters for 好色tvwere shown five separate misleading advertisements on YouTube, three of which used manipulated video of Freeland and two that used Anand's image or name to link to sites nearly identical to the ones connected to the videos.
好色tvidentified five different sites with almost identical text and layout spoofing the Toronto Star. None of the URLs matched the Star's site, and the text contained numerous grammar and spelling errors. Both Freeland and Anand were not identified by their cabinet positions but instead as "an experienced 好色tv politician."
Torstar, owners of the Toronto Star, holds an investment in 好色tvas part of a joint agreement with subsidiaries of the Globe and Mail and Montreal's La Presse.
, which was written in a question-and-answer format, boasts users can make $7,000 a day on an initial investment of $250, and that the system generates passive income with no effort by the investor. The site says there is a limited number of registration spots available and urges people to sign up quickly 鈥 a tactic used by to create a sense of urgency. A form at the bottom of the page asks for a name, email and phone number to register, after which the text says you will receive a call from a "personal manager."
The supposed investment platforms are named either "Gas Profit" or "TokenTact," and claim to trade in either gas, crypto or cryptocurrency.
A Google search for "TokenTact" brought up several sponsored sites imploring people to register for the "Token Presale Platform," multiple official-looking sites with different variations of "token tact" in the URL and sites supposedly offering third-party "reviews" of the cryptocurrency platform and answering the question: "Is It Legit Or A Scam?"
The says there has been 13,341 victims of fraud as of May 31 this year, and $241 million has been lost to scams.
The centre that those who want to invest in cryptocurrency work with well-known and reputable exchanges.
好色tvhas previously identified manipulated media on Facebook featuring billionaire businessman Elon Musk and another with Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem, and on X featuring CTV host Mary Berg.
Sources
Archived versions of the two deepfake videos featuring Chrystia Freeland can be found () and ()
Archives of the YouTube accounts with manipulated videos can be found , , , and
Archives of the spoofed Toronto Star pages , , 听 and
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