Actor Wang Jinsong's likeness deepfaked in AI video used for fraud
Chinese actor Wang Jinsong discovered that deepfaked video content featuring his likeness, voice, and synchronized lip movements had been created and distributed on WeChat Video to promote a fraudulent financial platform. The deepfake was created by modifying an authentic 2020 television appearance and was sophisticated enough that family members could not distinguish it from genuine video.
What happened
On 26 February 2026, Chinese actor Wang Jinsong posted on social media that his likeness had been used without permission to create a deepfaked video promoting a fraudulent financial platform claiming to offer 'CRC' and 'RWA' investment products.
The deepfaked video was created by modifying an original 2020 video from Douyin's official drama account that showed Wang Jinsong in costume from the television series 'Bing Yu Huo', with the modified version altering his spoken dialogue and lip movements while keeping his voice, appearance and video background.
Reported impact
Wang Jinsong stated that the deepfake was indistinguishable from authentic video, saying "the video, voice, and lip movements look completely real". He reported that his family members could not distinguish the deepfaked video from real footage of him.
Wang Jinsong expressed concern that similar deepfakes could be used for fraud in future, stating he worried about future AI portrait infringement cases being "more realistic" and "more malicious" and potentially used for scams.
Index analysis
According to reporting, commercial AI video manipulation services are available on e-commerce platforms offering to modify celebrity videos with new dialogue and synchronized lip movements for 130 to 400 yuan per minute, with the ability to remove AI generation watermarks.
The deepfake technology represents an evolution from earlier forms of synthetic media to advanced lip-sync manipulation that defeats visual detection methods and passes human verification even by family members.
Governance controls
WeChat Video removed the fraudulent video following Wang Jinsong's public disclosure. Experts noted that video platforms typically rely on AI detection tools and maintain portrait protection libraries for known public figures, but detection becomes increasingly difficult as generation technology advances.
Legal experts stated that responsibility for such deepfaked content should extend to the video creator, the platform, and the AI tool provider, with platforms having deletion obligations under the 'safe harbor' principle and AI companies required under China's generative AI management rules to label generated content clearly and prevent it from becoming a tool for crime.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.