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Russell Crowe has warned his fans not to be fooled by a deepfake video in which he appears to endorse a property business in Malta.
The Gladiator actor, 59, posted the ‘fake’ pixilated commercial on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday and warned his followers not to be duped into thinking he was connected to the property company.
‘This is going around in Malta. It is obviously fake BS, don’t fall for it,’ he wrote.
‘What else is obvious is that this service/business must be shonky and underhanded to resort to this way of promoting itself. Block, report, ignore. I’ve never used this service & I do not endorse this BS.’
In the video, grainy footage of Russell appears in front of clips of locations, properties and the company’s leaflets.
In an strange, robotic voice, he praises the app and says he ‘personally’ used it while staying in Malta.
‘This app is a game-changer when it comes to finding exclusive homes for rent or purchase in Malta,’ the bot said.
Russell Crowe has warned fans he is not the face of a property company in Malta… (Picture: Instagram)
The Gladiators star was used in a creepy deepfake advert (Picture:Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for AFI)
The video showed him talking about having personally vetted the company (Picture: Instagram)
But this isn’t Russell Crowe at all… (Picture: Instagram)
Russell is not the first star to unknowingly be the ‘face’ of an advert using deepfake or AI technology.
Tom Hanks warned fans in October that he was not involved with a dental plan promo featuring his image.
‘BEWARE!! There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me,’ Hanks captioned a still from the commercial.
‘I have nothing to do with it,’ he added.
Earlier this month an AI version of Taylor Swift was used promote Le Creuset cookware in a scam advert.
Le Creuset was not involved in the creation of the videos, but the advert appeared to show the Anti-Hero hitmaker giving away sets of pans to her ‘loyal fans’.
The fake Taylor can be seen briefly, and said: ‘Hey y’all, it’s Taylor Swift here. Due to a packaging error, we can’t sell 3,000 Le Creuset cookware sets. So I’m giving them away to my loyal fans for free.’
‘If you’re seeing this ad, you can get a free cookware set today – but just a heads-up, there are a few rules,’ she continued.
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Russell isn’t the first celebrity to fall victim to deepfakes, as Taylor Swift was used in a scam earlier this month (Picture: Roberto Serra – Iguana Press/Getty Images)
She then urged US-based fans to click a button and answer questions to be in with a chance of receiving the expensive prize.
The New York Times reported it was a scam and after fans gave card details for a small shipping fee, they were reportedly hit with recurring payments.
Le Creuset confirmed to Metro.co.uk that there was no consumer giveaway in place with the star.
Gemma Collins also took to social media just days ago to warn of a slimming pill advert which was using her pictures in promotional content.
Confirming she has ‘nothing to do with them’, the TV personality urged fans not to fall for fake advertisement, and to ‘stay safe’ and well away from the pills.
Taking to Instagram, she wrote: ‘Hey everyone just checking in as it’s been brought to my attention and I am getting so many messages regarding someone on Facebook is advertising slimming pills with my pictures attached!
‘PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE ‼️I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS ‼️ STAY SAFE EVERYONE if you come across it report‼️‼️‼️‼️ hopefully Facebook will take down … love GC x please do not buy remember your beautiful.
‘Please do not fall for the fake advertisement and please stay safe do not buy these !!! I have NOTHING to do with them!!!!’
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Oh hell no.