Manipulated Elon Musk videos promote fake investment app to Canadians
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on June 29, 2023 at 19:35
- Updated on April 29, 2024 at 17:11
- 4 min read
- By AFP Canada
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A June 19, 2023 Facebook video with more than 62,000 views shows Gayle King of "CBS Mornings" appearing to say: "Elon said that each resident will be able to earn an income of $5,700 a day no matter who you are, whether you're a housewife, a worker or a waiter."
The clip then cuts to Musk, owner of SpaceX and Tesla, and claims he has started a new AI trading app that Canadians can use to make money.
"This piece of software trades stocks and does it so well it wins trades at a success rate of 91 percent," Musk appears to say in the clip.
Scores of other videos about a purported investment opportunity from the tech billionaire have spread across Facebook, receiving hundreds of thousands of views. Similar claims have circulated targeting Australians.
One June 15 clip featuring David Cochrane of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) show "Power & Politics" received more than 126,000 views. Another video with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson was viewed more than 63,000 times.
The videos include several different segments in which Musk appears to discuss how he came up with the idea for an AI stock-trading app and how it could help Canadians.
However, reverse image searches reveal the footage is manipulated -- the original videos do not mention such apps.
The clips of Musk match previous interviews he's given: one with The Wall Street Journal in December 2021 and another from the 2022 Future of the Car Conference. Neither mentions AI investment apps.
The footage of other public figures is also manipulated:
- The video of King matches a December 9, 2022 clip where the host discusses speaking with the wife of Brittney Griner after the American basketball player was released from a Russian prison. CBS News also confirmed the Facebook clip was not authentic.
- Kerry Kelly, a CBC spokeswoman, confirmed the footage of Cochrane was fabricated.
- In the Carlson video, the host's clothing and movements match a segment from September 2022 on another topic, but a generic "Daily News" graphic appears in the foreground instead of the Fox News logo.
There are several other clues that indicate the videos shared on Facebook are not genuine:
- Many pages publishing the clips have removed them. Those that are still online have comments hidden, making it difficult for people to warn others that the footage is altered.
- Several pages' most recent posts appear to be from at least two years ago, indicating they might not be authentic.
- The links associated with the manipulated videos do not actually lead to any websites about AI investing. Instead, they go to stores selling items such as bridesmaids' dresses and coffee products.
Another telltale sign the videos are doctored: The speech is not synchronized with the speakers' lips, a characteristic of deepfakes.
A deepfake is a piece of synthetic media altered using AI. The process involves taking a genuine image, audio or video, synthesizing the data from the file and then using that analysis to create a new piece of content that mimics the original's characteristics.
AI-manipulated imagery is growing in popularity and is often used to spread misinformation. In May 2023, AFP debunked deepfakes used to promote fake investment opportunities for Canadians.
Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.
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