Are your favorite celebs secretly endorsing online gambling? Think again.
A new report by Rappler reveals a disturbing trend: online gambling applications are manipulating the images and voices of celebrities to promote their unlicensed services. This deceptive tactic leverages AI-generated content and clever editing to create misleading advertisements that could easily fool unsuspecting viewers.
The report details several examples of how popular personalities are being exploited. Local stars Anne Curtis, Belle Mariano, and Catriona Gray, as well as Korean heartthrob Park Seo-joon, have all been targeted. These celebrities had their existing video footage or photos repurposed and altered to falsely endorse non-licensed gambling apps like PesoBET, Pusta88, and Peso88 Lucky.
The report highlights the concerning sophistication of these manipulations. In some cases, voices were entirely replaced using AI technology, while other instances involved splicing together existing footage to create a false narrative. This makes it difficult even for the trained eye to distinguish between genuine content and a cleverly crafted deepfake.
Further adding to the deceptive nature of these campaigns is the background of the Facebook pages responsible. The report reveals that these pages – Pesobet-bns, Happy Entertainment, and Peso88 Lucky – all exhibit suspicious characteristics. Notably, they have minimal follower counts, lack basic profile information, and appear to be recently created accounts.
The investigation also found that the administrators of these misleading pages are all located in Malaysia, a country where online gambling is illegal. This raises questions about the potential coordination between these campaigns and the regulatory frameworks in place to prevent such deceptive marketing practices.
While online gambling is legal in the Philippines, the report emphasizes the dangers associated with unregulated platforms. The WHO recognizes gambling as a significant public health concern, highlighting its potential to trigger financial hardship, worsen mental health, and fuel social problems within families.
The report concludes by echoing the WHO's recommendation to end the advertising and promotion of unregulated gambling. It urges stricter regulations to protect consumers from falling prey to these deceptive tactics and calls for platforms like Facebook to take stronger measures to identify and remove such misleading content.
This incident also underscores the need for celebrities to be extra vigilant about how their image is used online. With the rising threat of deepfakes and manipulated content, stars and their representatives must take proactive steps to monitor their online presence and protect themselves from such exploitation.
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