A mother recently made headlines after sharing her disturbing experience involving artificial intelligence deepfake technology.
Featured videos
A video posted by TikTok user Sam (@sammci9), which has since garnered over 1.8 million views, alleges that the brand used AI to create a deepfake of her face for promotional purposes. We are discussing how to
“That’s me,” she began, showing a screenshot of the deepfake video in question. “This is not my face because they created a deepfake of me using AI.”
Brand uses her likeness to create AI deepfake
Sam explained that the video was originally from her TikTok account, but the brand manipulated it.
“What you’re watching now is my video on this account,” she explains. “A brand has taken [it]used AI to create a deepfake of me, edited and re-uploaded my face to further promote their product. ”
This experience led Sam to reflect on the growing concern about online safety.
“The internet is a scary place and people ask me, ‘Why don’t you post your kids anymore?'” she added.
Are there other potential uses for AI in the future?
Sam explains that if a brand can do something like this to her, the potential abuse of videos featuring children is even more alarming.
“What would people do if they saw the video of the kids? It’s so weird. It’s so scary. This is not normal.”
Sam contacted the brand and was able to have the video removed immediately, but she remains upset.
“I brought it to their attention and it was taken down within 30 minutes,” she says. “This is to promote internet safety, because if this is happening to me, think about what’s happening to other videos, especially videos of children.”
As Sam puts it, the experience was “very strange” and served as a reminder that we need to be careful about what we post online.
How widespread is deepfake video technology?
Deepfake videos are fabricated videos that are digitally created using artificial intelligence. These videos are typically produced using only clear images, audio samples, and AI technology.
According to statistics from Security Hero, the number of deepfake videos exploded in 2023, with 95,820 deepfake videos published online. This is a 550% increase from 2019.
The site reports that most deepfake videos are used for adult content, but cases like the one involving TikTokers show that scams and other abuses are on the rise.
For example, another woman made headlines earlier this year when she shared that a brand used her likeness to create a deepfake video promoting an erectile dysfunction drug.
Finally, Stanford University suggests that if you come across a deepfake video, you should report it using the source included in the blog post.
Currently, there are no federal laws specifically regulating deepfakes, but various bills have been introduced to address the issue. One example is the DEFIANCE Act of 2024.
Viewers are furious
In the comments, users have expressed their anger and frustration over Sam’s experience, with many speculating which brand is to blame.
“Please consult a lawyer,” one user advised.
“Is this why some random account saves my videos every few days and it’s the same 3 videos?” Another wonder. “I don’t see any appeal in this app so I don’t understand why they keep using it (lol)”
“Needless to say between that experience and this video, my MomCozy portable pump broke and I will never buy anything from that manufacturer again,” said another, adding that the brand in question was the breast pump company MomCozy I guessed that it was.
@sammci9 This has no effect on people who post about their children online. We just want everyone to know that things like this do happen and can happen, so we should be careful what we share 🤍 #momsoftiktok #motherhood #internetsafety #parentsontiktok #parentsoftiktok #motherhoodjourney ♬Original song – Sam | 🐮🍼
We reached out to Sam via email and TikTok messaging for more information. I also contacted MomCozy via email.
Internet culture is chaotic, but we break it down for you in one email a day. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter. Get the best (and worst) of the internet delivered straight to your inbox.
