AI deepfake video falsely shows Chinese academician endorsing skincare product
AI-generated deepfake videos falsely showed a Chinese academician and university official endorsing a skincare product. The videos, which used synthetic replicas of his face and voice, reportedly misled consumers into buying the product and potentially counterfeit medicines, in violation of China's civil law protecting portrait and voice rights.
What happened
AI-generated videos circulated online showing Zhang Baoli, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and honorary president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, promoting a whitening skincare product.
Zhang Baoli stated the videos were entirely fabricated and that he had never used the product, made endorsements for it, or researched it. He reported that at least a dozen more videos using his likeness and voice had circulated on the internet.
Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine submitted an urgent request to the network information authorities to regulate and remove videos and public accounts suspected of infringing on Zhang Baoli's portrait rights and name rights.
Reported impact
Zhang Baoli expressed concern that the deepfake videos misled consumers and affected the public's health and finances, with some people purchasing counterfeit drugs based on the false endorsements.
He stated the videos violated national law and disrupted market order, and expressed frustration that experts' reputations were being damaged while feeling helpless to prevent such misuse.
Governance controls
Under China's Civil Code, natural persons have rights to their portrait and voice, and any use of information technology to forge these is considered infringement.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.