Associated Incidents
A lawsuit accuses unknown Facebook page administrators of using AI-generated deepfakes to falsely portray the minister promoting fraudulent "high-yield" investment schemes.
Greece's Ministry of Economy and Finance, along with Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, filed a lawsuit on Friday against the unidentified operators of a Facebook page for running deceptive advertisements.
The suit claims the page used artificial intelligence to produce a deepfake video showing Pierrakakis endorsing a scam investment program.
The fabricated content "falsely showed Minister Pierrakakis encouraging citizens to invest in alleged 'high-yield programs,'" the ministry stated, emphasizing that "it bears no connection to reality."
Greek authorities have previously exposed similar social media and online scams featuring deepfakes of prominent figures promoting fake "miracle" drugs or lucrative investments in cryptocurrencies, gold, or oil---often including bogus personal success stories from the impersonated individuals.
In February, police uncovered an illegal online network trafficking counterfeit medicines, which deployed deepfake videos mimicking the likeness or voice of celebrities like doctor Sotiris Tsiodras, journalist Nikos Hatzinikolaou, and singer Giorgos Dalaras.
Under the EU's pioneering AI Act---the world's first comprehensive AI regulation---deepfakes are categorized as limited risk, while deploying AI to manipulate elections or voter behavior is deemed high risk.