Richard Wilkins has called out the ‘disturbing’ trend of AI-generated images after a fake photo of him being ‘caught’ in a Sydney park was widely shared on Facebook.
The Channel Nine presenter is seen being handcuffed by three policemen in a viral photo captured or created using artificial intelligence.
While the photo was clearly manipulated, many social media users fell in love with it.
A visibly upset Wilkins said Friday that “deep fake” photos of celebrities may seem funny and harmless, but this photo was no laughing matter for him.
He revealed on the Today Extra that he had received hundreds of letters “from all over the world” from fans who believed the photo of the arrest was real.
Richard Wilkins has called out the ‘disturbing’ trend of AI-generated images after a fake photo of him being ‘caught’ in a Sydney park was widely shared on Facebook.
The Channel Nine presenter was seen being handcuffed by police officers in a viral photo captured or created using artificial intelligence
He said the viral image of his “arrest” was particularly troubling because it formed part of an elaborate financial scam targeting vulnerable Facebook users.
After host Sylvia Jeffries revealed her mother had seen the photo and brought it to her attention, Wilkins said he was also inundated with questions.
He said, “I’ve had literally thousands of comments and messages from people around the world saying, ‘Hey, what’s going on?'” “
And while most people think they are dodgy and fake, these things lead to other things. These links lead to (web) links, and the Bank of Australia supposedly sued me for providing incorrect financial advice.
It sends links to people where they can invest and stuff. The thought of someone losing (money) or investing in anything I supposedly recommended is what really bothers me.
A visibly upset Wilkins (right, with former Facebook Australia CEO Stephen Schiller) said on Friday that ‘deep fake’ photos of celebrities may look funny and harmless, but this photo was no laughing matter for him.
After host Sylvia Jeffries (right, with David Campbell) revealed that her mother had seen the photo and brought it to her attention, Richard said he received hundreds of letters “from all over the world” from fans who thought the arrest photo was real.
He continued, “It went from being kind of entertaining to being very annoying, really annoying.”
Wilkins suspected he was being targeted because “in Australia I have a reasonably recognizable face” and any hint of his involvement in scandal “would become a feeding frenzy”.
He added, “Obviously, people have a lot of time to do this kind of thing, because it feels real.”
Stephen Schiller, the former CEO of Facebook Australia, said incidents of celebrity deepfakes are becoming increasingly common.
He warned that technology has become so advanced that almost identical videos and audio clips are circulating with people impersonating them.
“We’re approaching a new era where it’s almost impossible for humans to tell the difference…and it’s only going to get worse,” said Mr. Schiller.
Nine’s legal department reported the AI images to Facebook parent company Meta “months ago,” Wilkins said, but nothing was done.
Schiller pointed out that the problem is caused by a lack of human resources in social media companies to deal with fraud and misinformation.
“My experience with social media platforms is that they are full of good people, but there are only so many of them and their platforms are so huge,” he said.
comes next Wilkins spoke to 2GB Ben Fordham Live About the fake arrest photo Thursday morning.
I don’t know what to do about it. This has been going on for some time,” he said.
It never happened. It’s a complete BS. The idea of anyone investing in anything because I was recommending it is deeply disturbing, and I’d hate to think that was happening.
Wilkins (right, with his son Christian) called attorneys over the fake arrest photo
In the fake viral photo that circulated last week, the Weekend Today presenter looked worried as he was arrested and handcuffed by police officers in a Sydney park.
Two police officers hold his arms while a third appears to file a report.
But the image wasn’t all it seemed: the photorealistic image was actually an AI-generated image with Wilkins’ face superimposed on the body of a criminal.
His son, Christian Wilkins, alerted his Instagram followers of the fake photo last Friday, reassuring fans that his father had not been arrested.
He also made a light-hearted joke about his father’s fashion choices, saying, “For those wondering, yes, these posts are fake.”
“There is no way Richard Wilkins could be seen not wearing skinny jeans.”
In the fake viral photo that circulated last week, the Weekend Today presenter looked worried as he was arrested and handcuffed by police officers in a Sydney park.