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Misleading AI Videos Persist on Social Media Despite Fact-Checking Efforts
False claims about government restrictions, fictional taxes, and fabricated royal conflicts continue to proliferate across social media platforms, three months after an initial investigation exposed the problem, according to fact-checking organization Full Fact.
Since late September, the organization has fact-checked at least 45 new misleading claims, ranging from fabricated government plans for nighttime curfews to nonexistent “NHS access cards” and a completely fictional £500 “Christmas decoration tax.” Despite their obvious falsehood to many, these videos have garnered millions of views and shares across multiple platforms.
The scale of the problem is difficult to quantify precisely because accounts sharing these claims are frequently deleted. However, Full Fact’s analysis of just four Facebook pages and four TikTok accounts reveals that dozens of misleading videos posted by these accounts alone have accumulated more than 8.4 million views. The organization has identified at least 163,000 shares of the 45 newly fact-checked claims, though this represents only a sample of the accounts distributing such content.
After Full Fact contacted TikTok about four accounts spreading these videos, the platform removed them for violating its Community Guidelines regarding harmful, misleading AI-generated content.
Many of the videos follow a distinctive pattern. They typically begin with footage of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, accompanied by an AI-generated voice resembling his, announcing a supposed new government policy allegedly starting in the coming month.
These fabricated policies often focus on restricting personal freedoms, such as imposing a 48-hour limit on parking in front of one’s home, or introducing measures that would negatively impact citizens’ finances—for instance, falsely claiming the government will seize savings above £5,000 to pay off national debt. Other videos promote fake policies purportedly offering financial benefits, like an increase in the Christmas Bonus from £10 to £200.
The voice rarely matches the Prime Minister’s lip movements, as the clips are typically sourced from older press conferences with artificial audio overlaid. The audio quality suggests the use of artificial intelligence, with unnatural speech patterns and unusual phrasing indicative of text-to-speech technology.
While some recent videos include an “generated by AI” text disclaimer added by the creators rather than the platforms, comment sections suggest many viewers still believe the content to be authentic.
The problem extends beyond fake clips of the Prime Minister. Other videos impersonate news presenters describing these fictional policies or even show fabricated footage of King Charles discussing political instability. These videos often come from accounts with official-sounding names like “Latest.News.Hub” and “uk.news.headlines8.”
The motivation behind these videos likely relates to monetization opportunities. Social media platforms reward content creators for driving engagement, which has been linked to the rise of “rage bait”—content designed specifically to provoke anger and outrage.
TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program, for example, allows users with at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 monthly video views to earn money. Similarly, Facebook enables page owners to generate revenue from advertisements if they meet specific criteria. Both platforms ostensibly prohibit monetization of misinformation, though it remains unclear whether the accounts analyzed by Full Fact were participating in these programs.
Full Fact attempted to contact the Facebook accounts spreading this content but received no response. They were unable to reach the TikTok accounts before their removal.
According to TikTok, when synthetic videos violating its policies are identified, the platform creates detection rules to automatically catch similar content. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, referred to its blog post on AI-generated content labeling procedures when questioned about these videos.
The persistence of these misleading videos highlights ongoing challenges in content moderation and the increasing sophistication of AI-generated misinformation across major social platforms.
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7 Comments
I’m curious to know more about the specific tactics and techniques used to amplify these false claims across social media. Understanding the mechanics behind their propagation could help inform more effective counter-measures.
Agreed, a deeper dive into the data and trends around this phenomenon would be valuable. Fact-checkers like Full Fact play a vital role, but platforms also need to be more proactive in limiting the reach of demonstrably false content.
It’s disappointing to see how quickly misinformation can spread, especially on sensitive topics like taxes and personal freedoms. We need a robust, multi-stakeholder effort to combat the proliferation of these types of false claims online.
Concerning to see such blatant misinformation spreading so rapidly online. Social media platforms need to do more to combat the flood of false claims, which can have real-world consequences. Fact-checking efforts are critical but clearly more must be done.
This is a troubling trend that speaks to the broader challenge of combating the spread of disinformation online. While freedom of speech is important, platforms have a responsibility to crack down on demonstrably false content that can mislead and deceive the public.
It’s disheartening that fictional narratives around taxes and personal freedoms can gain such traction, especially when they are so easily disproven. Reliable information sources like Full Fact play a vital role in debunking these types of claims.
I agree, the scale of the problem is quite alarming. We need a multi-pronged approach to address the proliferation of misinformation – stronger platform policies, better user education, and greater investment in fact-checking initiatives.