One of the hottest personalities in Bitcoin (BTC) right now is Michael Saylor due to his vocal support for the digital asset and his company’s aggressive accumulation of it. So, one of the easiest ways to bait crypto fans into entrusting their hard-earned holdings is by linking their scheme to him, or worse, using his likeness in an elaborate deepfake video.
The Michael Saylor Fake Ad
An ad showing the former MicroStrategy CEO has been circulating on YouTube leading up to the holidays. It featured Saylor inside an office enticing viewers to bite into his offer of doubling their Bitcoin holdings. From there, he enumerated the “easy steps” they can undertake to grow their wealth starting by scanning the QR code in the presentation.
It sounds too good to be true, isn’t it? That’s because it probably is.
People familiar with deepfake and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies immediately outed the video as a scam. Upon closer examination, one will notice right away that the actions of Saylor there seem to be off. His head and eye movements also appear to be in a loop while his head looks like it’s superimposed on a stationary body.
What’s more alarming about the whole affair was that it was an advertisement approved by YouTube!
Who’s the Perp?
We can no longer find the original video on the streaming platform, but some people on X claimed it was from the same person who perpetrated the bogus commercial in November featuring a fake rendering of Ripple CEO Brad Garlington. Like the Saylor promo, the Garlington ad encouraged viewers to send at least 1,000 XRP to a certain address so it will be doubled.
Again, the same hints would tell us that the video was made employing a deepfake and AI combo.
The Reactions
As expected, people were livid about the fake Saylor ad. Most of the heat was directed to YouTube for even approving the ad in the first place. Others suspected that someone at the website may be getting paid for the approval of the phony commercials, and they questioned their often slow response to these issues.
As a result, some urged Saylor to sue the website for the personal damages he incurred because of the platform’s failure to implement its terms and conditions. They said it would be an easy win for the MicroStrategy chair.
Few commented that those who send their crypto to the addresses provided by the scams probably deserve to lose their holdings so they will learn their lesson.