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Jennifer Aniston's bikini body ad is the latest AI scam in the “big whack-a-mole” celebrity scam

Jennifer Aniston's bikini body ad is the latest AI scam in the “big whack-a-mole” celebrity scam

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Despite legislation recently signed in California, artificial intelligence deepfakes of celebrities are as prevalent as ever.

One of the most recent is a clip of Jennifer Aniston that appeared on Facebook, showing her talking about “being in bikini shape even in my 50s” and promoting collagen supplements as the reason “why my body doesn't stores fat.” ” per US Weekly.

The video was removed, but fans questioned it and sent it to fitness influencer Ben Carpenter, who investigated the video.

He noted that the clip originally featured in the fake ad was actually from a Hollywood Reporter roundtable interview with other stars, including Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts.

Close-up of Jennifer Aniston with a serious expression

Fans questioned a video of Jennifer Aniston selling a nutritional supplement, and several people thought it was an AI deep fake. (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

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“You can see that the body language matches. “In this snippet of the video, she was actually talking about her acting, which had absolutely nothing to do with her 'bikini body,'” Carpenter notes in the caption of his Instagram post.

He continued: “This is once again a warning shot that shows us what AI is capable of. It’s getting harder and harder to figure out which videos are real and which aren’t.”

Representatives for Aniston did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Rob Rosenberg, founder and principal of Telluride Legal Strategies, agreed that “the video was clearly fake.”

Jennifer Aniston stands smiling on the street

Rob Rosenberg, founder and principal of Telluride Legal Strategies, agreed that “the video was clearly fake.” (James Devaney/GC Images)

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“I think that if Jennifer Aniston's fans looked closely at the video, they would probably get the hint that it wasn't authentic. There are moments when the lips don't match the tone. “And I think if they were fans, they might also be familiar with the round table she attended before,” he said.

WATCH: AI expert explains how technology has changed to make AI deepfakes easier

AI expert Marva Bailer agreed that fans would likely question a video like the one shared, especially since Aniston isn't much active on social media.

“Jennifer joined Instagram in 2019 and actually set a world record for getting one million followers in five hours. But if you look at her Instagram, even with her PR people, she has less than 200 posts. “So Instagram isn’t really the way she communicates with her audience,” she said. “So while we immediately see an ad of her promoting a product on Instagram, our Spidey sense comes out because she doesn't communicate with her audience that way.”

Aniston is far from the first celebrity to have his likeness used in an AI-created ad. Stars like Tom Hanks, Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson and others have all struggled with technology.

Tom Hanks attends a premiere

Tom Hanks is one of many celebrities whose likeness was used without permission in an ad using AI. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

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“I’ve seen it described as one big game of whack-a-mole,” Rosenberg said.

“You should definitely remain vigilant and remove these things wherever you spot them. All platforms are obliged to remove the video once they are notified that this is not authentic and unauthorized.” But of course it is up to you and your representative to be on the lookout for such things and stop them as early as possible. In this case, I'm actually shocked that it took a million views or something to get this flagged as inauthentic by someone,” he continued.

According to Carpenter's post, Aniston's clip had over 700,000 views when he reported it.

“What is changing in the age of AI are these tools. These digital tools have become much more accessible to people with really little entry or no cost. “It used to be complicated computer-aided design or agency or very expensive, complicated software,” Bailer explained. “So people think, 'Hey, I can just do an ad,' and that's not OK, and the stars are now looking for them.”

“I’ve seen it described as one big game of whack-a-mole.”

— Rob Rosenberg, founder and principal of Telluride Legal Strategies

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She continued: “Another area that is very interesting to watch is legislation. The legislation now not only affects the creator or the employee, but it looks at the entire ecosystem. And that means looking at the potential company that's running it.” It's going to be very, very hard to track them or contact the provider that has the app or even the media if they're found.

Legislation is underway in Tennessee and now California, with two recent bills signed into law in September.

On September 17, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills supported by the actors' union SAG-AFTRA that provided protections for living and dead actors' images – AB 1836, which limits the use of AI to create digital replicas of dead artists without their consent Estates, and AB 2602, which increases consent requirements for living artists for AI recreations.

“We continue to break new ground when it comes to how AI and digital media are transforming the entertainment industry, but our guiding principle has always been protecting workers. This legislation ensures the industry can continue to thrive while strengthening protections for workers and how they work.” “Likelihood may or may not be used,” Newsom said in a statement.

California Governor Newsom

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills protecting artists related to AI, but vetoed a third, more comprehensive bill last month. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

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“It's a momentous day for SAG-AFTRA members and everyone else because the AI ​​protections we fought so hard for last year are now being expanded through California law thanks to the Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. “They say that as California goes, so goes the nation.”

WATCH: Legal expert explains why celebrities need to stay vigilant about AI deepfakes

Later in September, Newsom vetoed a separate bill, SB 1047, also supported by SAG-AFTRA.

According to the Associated Press, the governor's veto represents a major setback to attempts to create guardrails for AI and its rapid development with little oversight.

“SB 1047, while well-intentioned, does not take into account whether an AI system is used in high-risk environments, requires critical decisions, or uses sensitive data,” Newsom said in a statement. “Instead, the bill applies strict standards to even the most basic functions – as long as they are used in a large system. I don’t believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats from technology.”

Close-up of Fran Drescher

Fran Drescher became SAG-AFTRA President in 2021 and was present at the signing of two AI bills with Governor Gavin Newsom. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

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“I give California a lot of credit for, I think, being pretty aggressive in passing laws around AI and misleading information to consumers,” Rosenberg said. “I think they're really leading the way in trying to figure out how we can protect consumers from misunderstandings that might arise from using this technology.”

Referring to the defeated bill, he added: “Governor Newsom is the governor of a state that has, on the one hand, a center of the entertainment industry and Hollywood. And on the other hand, I think it was something like 32 of the top 50 AI developers in the world are also in his state. So he's trying to balance the competing interests in his state to continue development, to bring in investment dollars and all of that. And I think that's what we've seen with this one particular bill, that he's trying to, in so many of these bills, that have been implemented into law to play a pioneering role. But at the same time he doesn't want to stifle innovation, he's looking for a way to give people the opportunity to figure out all the good uses of this technology while at the same time keeping an eye on and being vigilant about the bad uses.”

The key to dealing with this problem will be vigilance for both celebrities and the average person.

Jennifer Aniston in a strapless dress smiles softly on the carpet at the Emmys

Stars like Jennifer Aniston and the average person need to be vigilant when fake videos circulate online, experts say. (Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)

“Legislation will not stop unauthorized advertising since the digital age,” Bailer said. “There will be creators who will publish whatever they want, whether for fun, for profit or for harm. And it's up to the authorities. It's up to the fans, and it's up to the PR to really try to find these people and stop them again where it makes sense. And that's what we need to pay attention to and what do we need to focus our attention on? We miss the good guys, but people will do what they want because that's what makes us human.

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“With any law, it is only as effective as the enforcement of the law. And I think that depends on how vigilant the lawmakers and law enforcement are going to be in tracking people, because if I were Jennifer Aniston in this case, I could certainly bring one.” “If I could find out who they are , I can’t bring private causes of action against people,” Rosenberg said. “But even if laws come into force, the question remains: Will governments actually enforce these laws and to what extent?”

He added: “This is not a fad. It's not hype. That's coming. And, you know, it's just going to be, you know, more and more prevalent in business. You know, it's going to touch everything we do.” I think we just learn as we go.

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