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Facebook and YouTube, allies in a scam

Fortunately, I am not a user of Facebook.

Okay, I *do* have a Facebook account, solely because some people I communicate with prefer it as their primary platform (God know's why). However, I log in less than once a month and always feel somewhat unclean after doing so.

The problem with Facebook is that it has become a scammer's playground. In fact, according to Aussie entrepreneur Dick Smith, AI is being used to create scam videos that use his likeness to sell fraudulent online trading services.

And Dick isn't the only one whose likeness is being forged using AI to create very convincing video testimonials for these scammy schemes.

The Australian TV program A Current Affair published this video today:

As you can see, even the Australian Treasurer has been deepfaked using AI to promote these scams.

Yet, strangely enough, nobody's doing anything about it. Not Facebook, not the Australian government -- nobody!

It's not just the Aussies that are getting hammered, it's happening here in NZ as well.

Twice now, I have reported this scam-video promoting a keto-diet (also shown as an ad) to YouTube:

Suffice to say that five days have passed since I filed the first of those reports and the video is still alive and well - probably scamming at least a handful of people.

I also have Ms Kamo a head's up via Twitter but haven't gotten any response... maybe she doesn't care?

It seems that all the major social media platforms are more than happy to take the money of those who advertise scams whilst ignoring the reports and complaints made to them about those ads.

Exactly when do we start holding these platforms accountable for "aiding and abetting" those who defraud others of their hard-earned money?

Is it, as Dick Smith suggests, simply that these platforms are now so large and powerful that even governments fear to censure them for their mis-deeds (crimes)?

I feel sorry for the many people who, collectively, lose billions of dollars a year to online scams that could be stopped in the blink of an eye -- if the platforms involved were held to account. After all, YouTube seems able to detect the unlicensed use of a copyrighted piece of music from as little as a single note. Surely if their AI is that powerful it should be a piece of cake to spot these deepfakes or simply respond in a reasonable timeframe to the thousands of complaints that are lodged against such fraudulent ads.

Never let ethics, morals, the law or a social conscience get in the way of profit I guess.

Carpe Diem folks!

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