YouTube Warns Creators About AI-Generated Video of Its CEO

YouTube has warned creators about an AI-generated video of the company’s CEO that is being used in phishing scams.

In an official post on Tuesday, YouTube released a warning to users about an AI-generated video of its CEO Neal Mohan, announcing fake changes to the platform’s payout policy as part of a phishing scam.

The deepfake video has been shared privately with users. It claims YouTube is making changes to its monetization policy in an attempt to steal their credentials, according to The Verge.

A screenshot of the AI-generated video of Mohan was by a Reddit user (see below). Creators are sent an email seemingly from “[email protected]” with an accompanying video of a deepfaked version of Mohan about the changes in monetization policy.

“This E-mail is going around. You will get hacked if you download the file they instruct you to download in the youtube video description,” the Reddit user says.

In a post, YouTube also warned creators about the AI-generated video of Mohan. The company urged users not to fall for phishing scams and to avoid clicking on links sent through untrusted files. YouTube says it will never attempt to contact users or share information through a private video.

“We’re aware that phishers have been sharing private videos to send false videos, including an AI-generated video of YouTube’s CEO Neal Mohan announcing changes in monetization,” Rob from Team YouTube writes in the post.

“YouTube and its employees will never attempt to contact you or share information through a private video. If a video is shared privately with you claiming to be from YouTube, the video is a phishing scam.”

In the post, YouTube says that the phishing scam could result in the loss of a creator’s credentials and malware being installed on their device.

“Many phishers actively target Creators by trying to find ways to impersonate YouTube by exploiting in-platform features to link to malicious content,” Rob writes.

“Please always be aware and make sure not to open untrusted links or files!”

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.