Lionel Messi Deepfake Used in Pyramid Scheme Scam

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Lionel Messi was the victim of a deepfake video used by a trading company to promote a pyramid scheme without his consent. The manipulated video, circulated on Instagram, falsely depicted Messi endorsing the scheme, promising high returns on minimal investments, potentially deceiving individuals into a fraudulent activity.[AI generated]

Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?

A deepfake video—an AI‐generated manipulation of Messi’s likeness—was used maliciously to advertise and recruit participants into a pyramid scheme. This has directly caused financial harm to individuals, making it an AI‐driven incident rather than a mere potential risk or complementary update.[AI generated]
AI principles
AccountabilityPrivacy & data governanceRespect of human rightsRobustness & digital securityTransparency & explainabilitySafety
Industries
Media, social platforms, and marketingFinancial and insurance services
Affected stakeholders
ConsumersOther
Harm types
Economic/PropertyReputationalHuman or fundamental rightsPsychological
Severity
AI incident
Business function:
Marketing and advertisement
AI system task:
Content generation

Articles about this incident or hazard

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Lionel Messi sufri├│ una "deepfake": utilizaron una entrevista suya para promocionar una estafa piramidal

2024-10-23
Ambito
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
A deepfake video—an AI‐generated manipulation of Messi’s likeness—was used maliciously to advertise and recruit participants into a pyramid scheme. This has directly caused financial harm to individuals, making it an AI‐driven incident rather than a mere potential risk or complementary update.
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Usaron una entrevista de Lionel Messi para promocionar una estafa piramidal

2024-10-23
minutouno.com
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
An AI-generated deepfake was used maliciously to commit financial fraud. The AI system’s use directly leads to a harm (potential investor losses), so this qualifies as an AI Incident.
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Lionel Messi fue víctima de una "deepfake" para una estafa piramidal - El Diario NY

2024-10-24
El Diario Nueva York
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
An AI system (deepfake generation) was directly used to create fraudulent content that led to financial harm (a pyramid scam). The misuse of AI here caused real-world property/financial harm to victims, fitting the definition of an AI Incident.
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Messi sufrió una "deepfake"

2024-10-23
La Banda Diario
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The event explicitly involves an AI system (deepfake technology) used maliciously to create a fake video of Messi endorsing a scam. This misuse of AI has directly led to harm by deceiving people into investing in a Ponzi scheme, which constitutes financial harm to individuals and communities. Therefore, this qualifies as an AI Incident due to the realized harm caused by the AI system's malicious use.
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Messi sufrió una "deepfake": con su imagen promocionaron una estafa piramidal

2024-10-23
Diario Río Negro
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The event involves the use of AI systems (deepfake algorithms) to generate realistic but fake video content. The misuse of this AI-generated content has directly led to harm by promoting a pyramid scheme, causing financial harm to individuals who fall victim to the scam. Therefore, this qualifies as an AI Incident because the AI system's use has directly led to harm to people (financial harm from the scam).
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Messi sufrió una "deepfake": utilizaron una entrevista suya para promocionar una estafa piramidal

2024-10-23
La Nueva
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The article describes a deepfake video created using AI technology to impersonate Lionel Messi without consent, promoting a fraudulent investment scheme. This misuse of AI directly leads to financial harm to individuals who fall victim to the scam, fulfilling the criteria for an AI Incident. The AI system's use in generating deceptive content that causes real-world harm to people and communities is central to the event.
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Lionel Messi fue víctima de una deepfake para promocionar una estafa piramidal

2024-10-23
Perfil
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
An AI system created a deepfake of Lionel Messi that was used to promote a Ponzi scheme. The misuse of AI directly led to harmful financial consequences for people who invested based on the fake video, meeting the criteria for an AI Incident.