For subscribers
Why AI conspiracy videos are spamming social media
Creators of sham content are finding a profitable home on various platforms.
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Beyond the cash cow, the genre also taps the increasing draw of such theories amid growing mistrust in governments.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Hannah Murphy
In a viral TikTok video, celebrity podcaster Joe Rogan appears to deliver a damning message: “We are all probably going to die in the next few years. Did you hear about this? There’s this asteroid that is on a collision course with Earth.” This information was kept top secret by the state, he insists, but then leaked by a US agency worker named Jonathan Brown.
In fact, the video is a sham, experts say. While the images are of Rogan, the audio appears to be a fake artificial intelligence-generated clone of his voice, according to non-profit Media Matters. And the asteroid covered up by the government? A baseless conspiracy theory. There is nothing to suggest that Rogan was knowingly involved in the clip.
