Deepfake video of Messi used to promote pyramid scheme
A deepfake video of footballer Lionel Messi was used to promote a pyramid investment scheme on Instagram, falsely claiming that investments would yield extraordinarily high returns. The manipulated video reportedly deceived hundreds of people into the fraudulent scheme.
What happened
A trading company created a deepfake video featuring Lionel Messi recommending their platform for investment.
The manipulated video went viral on Instagram, showing Messi saying that 75,000 pesos could become 2 million pesos in a week, and claiming the investment application helped thousands of people.
The fake video presented the investment as safe and stated Messi had done it with a childhood friend.
Reported impact
The deepfake was used to promote what was described as a pyramid scheme or Ponzi scheme designed to defraud investors.
Hundreds of people reportedly fell for the scheme as a result of the video featuring Messi's manipulated likeness.
Index analysis
The use of deepfakes with celebrity images like Messi has become increasingly common on social media, exploiting new technologies to generate audio and video with artificial voices and likenesses.
This is not the first time Messi's image has been misused in deceptive advertising on fraudulent platforms.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.