Images of celebrities including Piers Morgan, Nigella Lawson and Oprah Winfrey were used in AI deepfake online ads to give a false impression that they endorsed a controversial US influencer self-help course.
The ad promoted the so-called “Genie Scripts” that are the centrepiece of Wesley “Billion Dollar” Virgin’s “Manifestation” course, which sells for $37 (£29) each.
He is himself a motivational speaker and on Instagram he has 1.1 million followers and claims to be worth $40 million.
The video used to persuade buyers to purchase the product claims that the Jinn scripture is a “missing” passage in the Hebrew Bible and that just his 20 words could change your life.
The ads combine pseudoscience, conspiracy theories, and manipulation of celebrity likenesses, all to attract customers desperate for a chance to take their destiny into their own hands.
The ad featured footage of Nigella Lawson talking about recipes and her work as a TV chef.
“I went on vacation and met this man at a very exclusive party. His name was Wesley and he handed me this hidden Bible page that was locked away in somebody’s room,” said the voice.
But it wasn’t Lawson’s, it was an almost indistinguishable imitation of an AI voice generator.
Actual footage of her is overlaid with a fake imitation of a food writer’s voice, giving the impression that she directly attributes her success to Wesley Virgin’s mentorship.
The AI voice suggested that the script revealed by Virgin revealed the secrets of manifesting, the practice of thinking and writing down one’s desires to make them a reality.
“He said, “Repeat this mantra every single day of your life… Since that moment I’ve become a multimillionaire all on my own.”
A Lawson spokesperson called the ad ” He called it “fraudulent” and “very egregious.”
Another ad used a similar technique, showing what appeared to be an uncensored clip of his Morgan from the TV show Piers.
The voice describes a “lost ancient script used by kings to attract great wealth, miraculous healing, and unparalleled love,” the mouth manipulates to match the language. It looked as if it had been.
The real Piers Morgan said that the ad was “another example of the deeply worrying trend of public figures being exploited by deepfake AI operators for financial gain”.
“The real victims will be ordinary people who unknowingly buy these products believing that celebrity endorsements are genuine,” he said.