AI deepfakes trap academic in impersonation fight

In the current digital landscape, generative AI is enabling widespread deception, with anonymous scammers targeting professionals. International relations scholar John Mearsheimer has been engaged in a significant struggle against AI-driven impersonation, battling hundreds of deepfake videos of himself that have appeared on YouTube. His office identified 43 channels featuring these fabrications, some depicting him making controversial geopolitical remarks.

The process to remove these videos from YouTube was described as slow and cumbersome, requiring Mearsheimer's office to submit individual takedown requests for each piece of content. This laborious task involved a dedicated employee and highlighted a significant challenge: new channels dedicated to posting AI-generated content continued to emerge, sometimes by slightly altering names to evade detection.

After months of effort, YouTube removed 41 of the identified channels, but only after many deepfake clips had already gained substantial viewership. Experts note that AI scales fabrication, making it easy to generate convincing images and videos, thereby collapsing deniability and shifting the burden of proof to the victim. This AI-driven impersonation is not limited to academics; doctors and CEOs have also been impersonated to promote fraudulent products or financial advice.

In response to the ongoing issue, Mearsheimer plans to launch his own YouTube channel to help safeguard users against impersonations. Similarly, economist Jeffrey Sachs has launched a channel due to the "extraordinary proliferation of fake, AI-generated videos" of him, describing the YouTube process as a "major, continuing headache."