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How to archer if an representation is AI
AI-generated accounts impersonating radical with Down syndrome are spreading crossed societal media, according to an investigation by CBS News Confirmed. Many of these artificial intelligence-backed profiles are gaining followers faster than existent disablement advocates — and they're making wealth from it.
These fake accounts usage feel-good messages, creation to trending songs, and convey their followers for supporting their journeys.
One video is captioned, "Be arrogant of yourself and your differences!"
"So grateful I ne'er gave up connected my dream," reads different post.
But the radical featured successful these accounts aren't real.
CBS News Confirmed identified much than 30 accounts impersonating radical with Down syndrome crossed Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Some utilized deepfakes oregon AI faceswaps. Others mimicked existent disablement advocates' connection and repackaged it to walk arsenic authentic. Only a fewer accounts disclosed the usage of AI.
AI for clicks and cash
Down syndrome communities person built beardown followings connected societal media, utilizing well-known hashtags similar #DownSyndrome and #DownSyndromeAwareness to link and stock their stories. Imposters exploit those aforesaid tags to look alongside existent advocates.
Many of the imposter accounts identified by CBS News posted videos connected TikTok and Instagram utilizing flirty oregon affectional captions to drawback attention.
"A miss with Down syndrome tin besides spell clubbing to flirt!" substance superimposed connected 1 station reads.
An representation posted connected 1 of the accounts.
Other accounts shared videos responding to fabricated disapproval successful bid to boost engagement and spell viral.
One account, calling itself "the NUMBER 1 DS creator🥇," utilized its illustration — populated with Down syndrome contented and having much than 130,000 followers — to beforehand her contented connected an adults-only site. CBS News reached retired to the account's owner, who went by the sanction "Sara" and said, "Yeah, I marque bully wealth from it."
Another well-known account, with much than 100,000 followers, claimed to rise wealth for the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), 1 of the nation's starring advocacy groups. But the videos it shared featured a look that looked blurry and distorted, with telltale signs of AI. An NDSS spokesperson told CBS News they did not cognize this idiosyncratic and did not inquire them to rise funds for the group. The relationship was aboriginal taken down.
AI impersonators stealing others' stories is "not right"
For radical with Down syndrome, these fake accounts tin consciousness similar a caller level of favoritism — 1 wherever their lived experiences are copied, exaggerated and monetized.
"It's not close to bargain our stories conscionable to get attraction online," said Alex Bolden, who works for NDSS.
Bolden, who has Down syndrome himself, told CBS News he's spent years moving to physique his 24,000 followers connected Instagram — a fig immoderate impersonators person achieved successful conscionable a fewer months.
"Those are our stories. I enactment truthful hard to advocator and stock my travel online and I can't judge radical would effort to instrumentality that distant from me," helium said.
"It's a disturbing trend," Michelle Sagan, who leads communications astatine NDSS, told CBS News. "I've seen my friends' faces utilized successful AI posts much than once."
Approximately 5,700 radical are calved with Down syndrome each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At their yearly advocacy conference held successful Washington, D.C., past week, aggregate advocates agreed that lone individuals with Down syndrome should beryllium the ones to archer their stories.
"While determination are galore reasons wherefore these fake accounts are wrong, the rule present is that individuals with Down syndrome are the lone radical who should beryllium speaking astir what it's similar to person Down syndrome," NDSS President & CEO Kandi Pickard told CBS News.
She said these influencers are not lone impersonating someone's identity, but besides exploiting a assemblage that's already warring to beryllium heard.
"There is inactive truthful overmuch enactment to beryllium done to guarantee that individuals with Down syndrome are included and respected successful society," Pickard said.
How person Meta, TikTok and YouTube responded?
CBS News reached retired to Meta, TikTok and YouTube for remark connected however each level is addressing AI-generated contented that impersonates radical with disabilities.
"Our Community Standards use to each contented posted connected our platforms careless of whether it's AI-generated, and we instrumentality enactment against immoderate contented that violates these policies," a Meta spokesperson told CBS News.
Each level recovered that the accounts pointed retired by CBS News had violated their policies, and removed oregon banned them aft our inquiries. But galore others inactive exist.
Stopping the dispersed of AI-generated accounts is simply a moving target, arsenic adjacent erstwhile an relationship is taken down, different 1 tin rapidly appear. And, dissimilar existent creators, these fake influencers don't request remainder oregon clip off. They make caller contented instantly, flooding feeds and pushing existent radical connected societal platforms deeper into the margins.
"We request everyone's assistance identifying and reporting these fake accounts arsenic they proceed to arise," Pickard said, adding that she hopes societal media platforms instrumentality stronger enactment to halt it.
Alex Clark is simply a shaper for CBS News Confirmed, covering AI, misinformation and their real-world impact. Previously, helium produced and edited Emmy and Peabody-nominated integer bid and documentaries for Vox, PBS and NowThis. Contact Alex astatine alex.clark@cbsnews.com
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