Is Taylor Swift really giving away Le Creuset cookware? No, it's a scam. Recently, the singer's likeness has appeared in AI-generated advertisements promoting free giveaways of Le Creuset cookware. According to multiple outlets, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have had the ad appear in recent weeks.
The fake advertisements for the cookware brand use pieced-together clips of the singer with a synthesized version of her voice and images of Le Creuset Dutch ovens.
What is this fake ad saying?
"Hey y'all, it's Taylor Swift here," a fake advertisement featuring Swift's augmented voice begins. "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."
Then, the ad instructs people to click on a button and answer questions in order to receive the brand's cookware. The false advertisement using Taylor Swift's voice included different ways that the creators of the fake ad used to legitimize the so-called giveaway. "Get in 10 days! Long waiting but anyway the set is great! Thank you guys!!" one account commented.
"Le Creuset is not involved with Taylor Swift for any consumer giveaway," a spokesperson for Le Creuset told NBC News. "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."
Many people were quick to call out the scam. Some people even shared their experience of falling for the fake advertisement. "I paid the shipping, stupidly, and never received the cookware," one user commented. "Shame on me for falling for it. Don't do it!"
The NY Times reported that the Le Creuset scam campaign also featured fabricated versions of Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey. In 2022, Winfrey shared a video about the prevalence of fake social media ads, emails, and websites falsely claiming that she endorsed weight loss gummies.
A Meta spokesperson told TODAY.com that the ad has been removed from their platforms. Of course, with anything on the internet, does it truly go away? Check out the fake ad here.