Jacob Elordi targeted in blatant AI deepfake scam using minor's body

Euphoria and Saltburn Actor Jacob Elordi has become the latest celebrity to be targeted by a sexually explicit AI deepfake scam.

According to NBC News, the X (formerly Twitter) post containing the non-consensual deepfake video of Elordi has been viewed more than 3 million times since late Monday night.

NBC reported that there were at least 16 posts containing the video on X. At least one of them had a content label that read “Restricted: This post may violate X's non-abuse rules,” meaning it couldn't be linked to or shared, the publication reported.

But the post still received 23,000 views, while another post had more than 1.7 million views, NBC reported.

Meanwhile, some posts have presented the material as a “leak,” implying it was real content published without Elordi's consent, while other posts have correctly identified the content as a deepfake.

The deepfake superimposed Elordi's face onto a pornographic video made by a male creator on OnlyFans, although the deepfake's body is missing Elordi's distinctive chest birthmark.

The male OnlyFans creator said he was 17 years old, i.e. a minor, when he filmed the video. In a post, he publicly denounced the misuse of his video, writing, “That is literally my video” and “Deepfakes are getting creepy.” He also responded to some of the posts containing deepfakes, asking for them to be removed.

According to NBC, he is now 19 years old and lives in Brazil.

Non-consensual, sexually explicit deepfakes have become increasingly common online in recent years, targeting a number of famous women, including Taylor Swift and Megan Thee Stallion, and a number of TikTok stars have appeared in similar content on the platform.

Deepfakes are created or altered using artificial intelligence or similar technologies and manipulated to beautifully replace the likeness of one person with that of another.

One of the most common forms of deepfakes is non-consensual sexually explicit videos that “swap” a person's face into a pornographic video. Political deepfakes containing disinformation about elections have also become more prominent, with some fearing they could be used to interfere in the 2024 elections.

Starting in April 2023, X is implementing a policy that prohibits the sharing of “synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive, confuse, or harm people.” It also prohibits content that “sexualizes individuals without their consent.”

But despite this policy, deepfakes persist on X, and the company is struggling to stamp them out.

Recent federal and state laws in the United States aimed at combating deepfakes have had little effect as such material proliferates online.

Adult content creators have expressed concern over the rise of pornography scams on the platform.

X has previously said it actively removes deepfakes.

Independent Representatives for X and Elordi have been contacted for comment.