WIRED investigation finds 100+ YouTube channels using AI for fake celebrity videos

WIRED’s investigation has uncovered over 100 YouTube channels using AI to create fake celebrity talk show videos that are fooling viewers despite their obvious artificial nature. These “cheapfake” videos use basic AI voiceovers and still images to generate millions of views, exploiting psychological triggers and YouTube’s algorithm to monetize outrage-driven content.

What you should know: These AI-generated videos follow predictable patterns designed to trigger emotional responses rather than fool viewers with sophisticated technology.

• The videos typically feature beloved male celebrities like Mark Wahlberg, Clint Eastwood, or Denzel Washington defending themselves against hostile left-leaning talk show hosts.
• Despite using only still images with AI voiceovers, channels like “Talk Show Gold” have attracted over 88,000 subscribers.
• Simon Clark, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Bristol, explains these are “cheapfakes” that “focus on rhetorical techniques that encourage audiences to abandon critical thinking skills by calling to emotion.”

How the deception works: The channels camouflage themselves among legitimate content while exploiting YouTube’s passive consumption habits.

• Channels use misleading names like “Starfame,” “Media Buzz,” and “Celebrity Scoop” to blend with real entertainment content.
• Many bury AI disclaimers under walls of promotional text, while others omit them entirely.
• The content targets viewers who consume YouTube passively while driving, cleaning, or falling asleep, reducing the need for visual sophistication.

The financial motive: Content creators, many based outside the US, appear driven primarily by monetization rather than political agendas.

• WIRED found evidence of duplicated videos and multiple channels operated by the same creators.
• One channel used an email containing “earningmafia,” suggesting clear financial intentions.
• Several channels previously posted educational content about cars or fitness before pivoting to AI-generated celebrity content during the AI boom.

YouTube’s response: The platform removed 37 flagged channels following WIRED’s investigation, though enforcement challenges remain.

• YouTube updated its policies on July 15 to crack down on generative AI content, requiring creators to disclose when content makes real people “appear to say or do something they didn’t do.”
• “All content uploaded to YouTube must comply with our Community Guidelines, regardless of how it is generated,” said Zayna Aston, Director of YouTube EMEA Communications.
• Those removed included channels without AI disclaimers and others with egregious names like “Celebrity Central.”

What celebrities are saying: Targeted actors express frustration about their voices and likenesses being misused without consent.

• “They’re tweaking my voice or whatever they’re doing, tweaking their own voice to make it sound like me, and people are commenting on it like it is me and it ain’t me,” Denzel Washington told WIRED.
• Washington emphasized he doesn’t have Instagram, TikTok, or other social media accounts, making any content claiming to be from him automatically suspect.

The bigger picture: These channels represent a broader shift in how AI-generated content exploits platform economics and human psychology.

• Sandra Wachter, a professor at the University of Oxford, notes that “rainbows and unicorns are not the things that keep people engaged. What keeps people engaged is something that is outrageous or salacious or toxic or ragey.”
• The content exploits YouTube’s business model, which prioritizes engagement time over content quality.
• Ben Colman of Reality Defender, a company specializing in identifying deepfakes, reports that even their own elderly family members have fallen for similar videos, checking with experts for validity.

Why this matters: The phenomenon highlights how simple AI tools can weaponize existing psychological vulnerabilities and platform incentives to spread misinformation at scale, requiring new approaches to content moderation that address the underlying economic drivers rather than just the technology itself.