AI Deepfake Scam Uses Croatian Politician's Likeness in Fraudulent Ads

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AI-generated deepfake videos featuring Ivan Penava, leader of Domovinski pokret, were used without consent in YouTube ads promoting a fraudulent 'get-rich-quick' scheme. The party warned the public about the scam, highlighting the misuse of AI to deceive viewers and violate Penava's personal rights.[AI generated]

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

The use of AI deepfake technology to generate fake videos and audio of Ivan Penava without consent constitutes an AI system's misuse. The resulting harm includes deception of the public, potential financial harm from the fraudulent scheme, and violation of personal rights. Since the harm is occurring due to the AI-generated content, this qualifies as an AI Incident under the definitions provided.[AI generated]
AI principles
Privacy & data governanceRespect of human rightsTransparency & explainabilityAccountabilityRobustness & digital securitySafetyDemocracy & human autonomy
Industries
Media, social platforms, and marketingFinancial and insurance servicesGovernment, security, and defence
Affected stakeholders
ConsumersGeneral publicOther
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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Internetom kruži video Penave koji nudi "brzu i sigurnu zaradu": Oglasio se DP

2025-08-28
Dnevnik.hr
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The use of AI deepfake technology to generate fake videos and audio of Ivan Penava without consent constitutes an AI system's misuse. The resulting harm includes deception of the public, potential financial harm from the fraudulent scheme, and violation of personal rights. Since the harm is occurring due to the AI-generated content, this qualifies as an AI Incident under the definitions provided.
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DP se oglasio oko neovlaštenog korištenja lika i glasa Ivana Penave: 'Oglasi su lažni'

2025-08-28
Vecernji.hr
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The event explicitly involves the use of AI technology (deepfake) to generate unauthorized and deceptive content that impersonates a public figure. This misuse has directly led to harm by misleading the public and potentially causing financial loss, which fits the definition of an AI Incident due to violations of personal rights and harm to communities. The legal response and warnings further confirm the realized harm and the AI system's pivotal role in causing it.
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Internetom kruži video Penave kako reklamira 'brzu i sigurnu zaradu', iz DP-a upozorili: 'Ne nasjedajte, oglas je lažan'

2025-08-28
Slobodna Dalmacija
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The use of AI-generated deepfake technology to create a misleading advertisement constitutes the use of an AI system. This misuse has directly led to harm by facilitating a scam that could deceive people into financial loss, and it violates the rights of the individual whose likeness and voice were used without consent. Therefore, this qualifies as an AI Incident due to realized harm and rights violations caused by the AI system's misuse.
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Domovinski pokret upozorio zbog videa Penave: 'On nikada nije dao suglasnost za to'

2025-08-28
direktno.hr
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The event involves the use of AI systems (deepfake technology) to create fake videos that misrepresent a public figure without consent. This misuse has directly led to harm by spreading deceptive content that could cause financial harm to individuals and violates the rights of the person impersonated. Therefore, it qualifies as an AI Incident due to realized harm from the AI system's malicious use.