Description: A network of TikTok accounts reportedly used AI-generated and deepfake influencer personas to promote wellness and beauty products through alleged deceptive advertising. The accounts reportedly invented identities and personal testimonials while making unsubstantiated medical claims, including false assertions related to fertility and hair-growth treatments. Some personas were reportedly reused across multiple accounts with inconsistent backstories. The content purportedly targeted vulnerable users and linked to unverified products before the accounts were removed.
Editor Notes: Timeline note: This incident reflects an ongoing scam network active prior to March 2025. The incident date is set to 03/04/2025 based on the first published report documenting the activity. See also incident 1397.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Unknown voice cloning technology developers , Unknown generative AI developers and Unknown deepfake technology developers developed an AI system deployed by Unknown TikTok account operators and Unknown scammers, which harmed TikTok users , People seeking medical advice , General public , Epistemic integrity and Consumers of wellness and beauty products.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Unknown voice cloning technology , Unknown generative AI systems , Unknown deepfake technology and TikTok
Incident Stats
Incident ID
1359
Report Count
1
Incident Date
2025-03-04
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
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UPDATE: (3/10/25): All of the accounts included within this piece appear to have been removed from TikTok since publication.
A swarm of apparent scammers on TikTok appear to be using deceptive advertising tactics and AI-generated media to s…
Variants
A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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