The first rule of social media is you do not fall for extortion scams. The second rule of social media is you do not fall for extortion scams. Maybe the rule needs an addendum that says you should never believe that a celebrity is asking for your help or your money. But that’s just what one French woman found out in the hardest – and most financially crippling – way possible, as AI images led her believe that Brad Pitt was personally requesting her aid, resulting in her throwing away $850,000.
With the images of an AI-generated Brad Pitt going viral, it can no longer be ignored by the star. As such, a rep for Pitt made the following statement: “It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities, but this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence.”
The 57-year-old woman – who is only being known as “Anne” at this time – was led to believe that Brad Pitt was contacting her to help raise money for cancer treatment. The reason millionaire “Brad Pitt” couldn’t cover his own expenses? His then-ongoing legal battle with ex-wife Angelina Jolie. “Anne” discovered the scam when she saw photos of Pitt out and about with current girlfriend Ines de Ramon. On the scenario, the woman stated, “At first I said to myself that it was fake, that it’s ridiculous…But I’m not used to social media and I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.”
We know that a certain generation can easily get fooled by AI-generated images – and even pictures like these, which look like crappy copy and paste jobs where someone cut out Brad Pitt’s head from Us Weekly and glued them to some stock images – but it is genuinely unfortunate and sad that this woman was duped to such a degree. The harassment, too, has gone too far, as the woman has seen apparently non-stop cyberbullying as a result of the story.
While there’s no evidence that Brad Pitt and his team will seek any legal action against the perpetrators if they are caught, it would seem like they would have a case, as someone used his likeness to make a financial gain.
Brad Pitt can next be seen in F1, in which he plays a retired Formula One driver for Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski.
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