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13th February 2025
04:41pm GMT
Scarlett Johansson has warned about the misuse of AI after a deepfake of her and other Jewish celebrities protesting against Kanye West began circulating.
It comes after the rapper recently left social media site X following a series of antisemitic posts and also sold swastika T-shirts on his website.
In the fake video, Johansson and other stars including David Schwimmer and Jerry Seinfeld were depicted wearing a white T-shirt showing the Star of David on a hand giving a one-finger salute, above the word 'Kanye'.
While the US actress said she had no time for 'hate speech', she was concerned about the threat AI making us 'risk losing hold on reality'.
The Black Widow actress told People: "It has been brought to my attention by family members and friends, that an AI-generated video featuring my likeness, in response to an antisemitic view, has been circulating online and gaining traction.
"I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind.
"But I also firmly believe that the potential for hate speech multiplied by AI is a far greater threat than any one person who takes accountability for it."
She added: "We must call out the misuse of AI, no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality."
The video which carries the slogan: "Enough is enough. Join the fight against anti-semitism" also features likenesses of Steven Spielberg, Adam Sandler and Sacha Baron Cohen which were used without their permission.
West, now legally known as Ye, repeatedly referred to himself as a "Nazi" and praised Hitler on X before saying he was closing his account on Sunday.
He also appeared in an advert during the Super Bowl directing people to his website, which started selling only one product: T-shirts with swastikas on.
On Tuesday, the site was taken down by Shopify due to policy violations.
The deepfake video was posted online on Wednesday but was created by Guy Bar and Ori Bejerano, digital marketers for Israel-based creative agency Gitam BBDO.
Posting the video on Instagram, Bejerano wrote: "It's time to stop being silent and respond to antisemites like Kanye West in the strongest way possible."
New figures from the UK's Advertising Standards Authority suggest fake adverts featuring celebrities and public figures remain the most common type of scam adverts appearing online.
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