Our identity was stolen. The “Wprost Odnie” podcast was used for fraud
Don’t be fooled by the smiles on our faces. This photo was taken on September 23 at Studio Plac. It features Beata Borucka, i.e. “Wise Grandma”, my guest, and it features me, Paulina Socha-Jakubowska, a journalist from “Wprost”. Today, both of us are not laughing because someone stole our image and used a fragment of the podcast we recorded for fraud. A deepfake was created with our participation. But one step at a time.
I must admit that until recently I somewhat underestimated the threats related to the development of AI. Or to put it another way – I am aware of them, but quite naively I thought that it was an exaggerated problem that would somehow magically pass me by.
Of course, I follow the news on this subject, and I often read the texts we publish about artificial intelligence in “Wprost PREMIUM Magazine”. I read a lot about it.
Perhaps even the news that the famous scientist, Andrzej Dragan, quantum physicist and science popularizer, created a clip for the new single Quebonafide entitled “Futurama 3” wouldn’t have electrified me that much – I would have approached it like, “what did they come up with again?”…
If it weren’t for the fact that its premiere actually coincided with the social media “premiere” of a certain deepfake, in which I unintentionally found myself.
“This is banditry”
Friday, 22:39 (I mention this time specifically, but more on that in a moment). I receive a message from “Wise Grandma”. Some strange link and comment pasted:
“Look at the deception that has befallen us. This is banditry. We report it to FB, but it doesn’t help.”
After such an introduction, I couldn’t help but open the link. And then I froze. You can see me in the “recording”, you can even hear my voice, but modified. The voice is devoid of any modulation. With a delicate computer sound. The recording itself is also far from the quality we offer you in podcasts…
I’m talking about an “innovative medicinal product” that Beata Borucka was supposed to introduce to the market (she was supposed to call those who in “2024 still treat hypertension with traditional pills” fraudsters).
And then “Wise Grandma” comes in and talks about the side effects of most drugs that “kill faster than a heart attack or stroke.” And that her team has developed an innovative product that “within 3 days removes the symptoms of hypertension and begins to regenerate the heart from the inside, improves memory, dissolves clots, and starts the body at full speed.” He adds that it is enough to take it once a day to forget about hypertension, arrhythmia, etc. And that the product changed the lives of 100,000 people from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.
To which I reply that these are impressive results. And I’m asking where I can find details about this drug.
Borucka adds that “it is available to anyone who wants to change their life.” – I only offer a proven method of treatment. All you need to do is take the first step. Find out more about the product and a change for the better will be closer than you think, he says.
The whole thing was published on some “krzak account”. But I know that. A random Internet user receives a recording featuring the idol of seniors, “Wise Grandma”, who talks about a mysterious drug. A real revolution…
“I’m terrified”
I immediately see that the Facebook account that distributes this deepfake is “left”, that neither my podcast interlocutor nor I sound like that in real life. After all, I know we weren’t talking about any magic cure for high blood pressure. Never in my life.
And again: we, our listeners and viewers, friends and colleagues, know this. And a random pensioner (obviously, the fraud was aimed at the group of “Wise Grandma” recipients, i.e. those using the silvers network) does not know this anymore.
Besides, is this ad actually about any medicine? Or maybe it’s an attempt to discredit “Wise Grandma” who is doing very well on the Internet?
– I am not so much outraged as terrified. The illegally used image is, in my opinion, a secondary issue. These materials endanger my guests (in SilverTV – ed.) and interlocutors, and worst of all, buyers of preparations of unknown origin – says Beata Borucka.
– We have been working for years to gain our credibility and the trust of the community, and such bandit behavior ruins it in an instant. When I get links to these deepfakes, of course I report them to FB. They block the reported profile, but it doesn’t matter if new ones are created endlessly. I sought advice from a lawyer who said that the perpetrators could not be identified, so it was a fight against windmills. I am just one of the victims of this nefarious practice, and there are hundreds of us. And what should we do? – asks “Wise Grandma”.
Why, a few paragraphs above, did I provide the exact time of the first message from Beata Borucka about the deepfake in which we found ourselves? Because when I write these words, it is Sunday morning, 11:32, and so far this recording is available on Facebook. Despite the reaction of Borucka, “Wprost” and myself, as well as the people I asked to “report” this recording.
How will this story end? I don’t know yet. But one thing is certain: It’s really happening and now it’s up to us, people who are able to detect the uniform, rather “computer” tone of voice, terrible recording quality, poor editing, six-fingered hands in AI-processed photos, whether critical thinking and the need to We will instill the need to verify content from the Internet in our children and – here is Beta Borucka’s plot – in seniors.
Otherwise, deepfake scammers will take over not only social media with impunity.
