“Are You Asleep at the Wheel Again?”
In a recent on the X platform, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressed his concerns about the surge of deepfake scam videos on YouTube.
He pointed to a recent case of old video footage from Ripple’s events being manipulated to overlay new words that create a misleading narrative.
“Are you asleep at the wheel again?!” Garlinghouse asked the video hosting giant.
He also reminded the public to not trust blindly and to verify all messaging, stating that only official Ripple accounts provide approved information.
A horrifyingly realistic Ripple scam
As reported by U.Today, the alarming scam involving Ripple-affiliated XRP cryptocurrency recently emerged on social media, utilizing AI technology to create a highly convincing imitation of Garlinghouse.
This deepfake scam entices viewers with a fake XRP giveaway, asking them to send a minimum of 1,000 XRP in exchange for double the amount in return.
The scam video, featuring a voice closely resembling Garlinghouse’s, falsely promotes this offer as a community support initiative.
Some XRP fans did notice oddities in the video’s mouth movements. Still, the scam’s sophisticated nature showcases a concerning trend of using AI to replicate public figures’ voices.
Ripple’s battle with YouTube
Ripple’s history with YouTube includes legal action over the platform’s handling of similar fraudulent content.
The San Francisco-based previously sued YouTube for its failure to control scams falsely representing the company and its executives.
The case was settled with YouTube acknowledging the need for better measures to curb such fraudulent content.
However, given the recent upsurge in deepfake scams, it is not unclear whether Garlinghouse is gearing up for another legal showdown with the video-sharing platform.
