Swifties Fall For a Ponzi Scheme Featuring DeepFake Taylor Swift Promoting a Le Creuset Giveaway

Through social media postings, videos, and outfits, Taylor Swift is well-known for deliberately promoting her favorite businesses. The Le Creuset cookware fetish of Lavender Haze hitmaker has been featured on a Tumblr site devoted to her collection of home décor items on several occasions. The kitchenware is also included in the Netflix documentary Miss Americana, which was featured on Le Creuset's Facebook page, and in the gifts she choose to give at a fan's bridal shower. Meanwhile, as per Fox News, a deepfake video advertisement tricked Swifties into falling for a ponzi gimmick. The widely shared Le Creuset cookware commercial combined Swift's appearance and a phony rendition of her voice alongside pictures of the brand's cookware to advertise a prize. 

"Hey you all, it’s Taylor Swift here," the A.I. modeled like the Blank Space songstress can be seen addressing fans. "Due to a packaging error, we can’t sell 3,000 Le Creuset cookware sets, so I’m giving them away to my loyal fans for free." Le Creuset later confirmed through an official statement that neither the brand nor Swift were involved in the ad."Le Creuset is not involved with Taylor Swift for any consumer giveaway. All approved Le Creuset giveaways or promotions come from the official Le Creuset social accounts. Consumers should always check Le Creuset’s official social accounts and website before clicking on any suspicious ads."

The parent company of Facebook, Meta, confirmed through a spokesman that the advertisement has been taken down from the network. Noted AI expert Marva Bailer explained that the fake ad "may be generated using AI, but a human chose to risk their reputation, consumer loyalty or their job by allowing ads that do not have contractual rights for endorsement. The idea that the picture is ‘entertainment,’ or this is for ‘fun’ does not equate to the world of business and brands. Marketing agencies and professionals for the most part are aware of these requirements."

"With the age of AI, artificial intelligence, the barrier to entry to create and disseminate content is not limited to professionals. Free tools that create professional images and campaigns are launched in minutes reaching global audiences of millions.  The ‘meme’ culture of creating a context for entertainment changes drastically when the content is used to represent brands and commerce without legal consent," Bailer further stated.

She concluded, "The speed at which content is created and consumed is estimated at 4,000-10,000 ads per day. With our attention span of 8 seconds, less than that of a goldfish, it presents opportunities for fake ads to slip through. AI is leveraged to understand preferences and increase personalization. [There is] potential to create fake reviews to show interest, create visuals that show use of the product that are imaginary. The promise of happiness, and beauty tied to a great deal and the quick press of the button may leave consumers disappointed." Swift's team remained unavailable for comments.