[Anchor]
It has been revealed that a significant number of ordinary consumer review ads easily found on YouTube are fabricated using AI.
With fake AI doctor ads having once become a serious issue and prompting the government to introduce regulatory measures, Kim Taewon investigates why this is still happening.
[Reporter]
A man with a protruding belly puts on a belt-type massager, and his body instantly transforms into a muscular physique with visible abs.
Testimonials follow, claiming dramatic effects from wearing this belt.
[My dad wore this and went from a size 38 to a size 32 in pants in just three weeks.]
The review claiming a reduction in waist size was confirmed to be a fake video created using AI.
An analysis of YouTube advertisements conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency over a nine-month period up to June uncovered 420 AI-manipulated ads.
By utilizing AI, appearances such as height and weight can be easily altered using just a single photo. Among the fake ads caught this time, exaggerating physical changes in this manner was the most common case, accounting for 171 instances.
A testimonial ad claiming that an adult whose growth plates have closed grew 6 cm taller after taking a height-increase supplement.
This is also an AI fabrication.
[Choi Byung-ho / Professor, Korea University Human-Inspired AI Research Institute: This is something that cannot be stopped now. Because the cost of creating AI videos is getting cheaper and the technology is becoming democratized, we have reached a situation where anyone can make them.]
When YouTube was once flooded with fake AI doctor ads, the government announced late last year that it would introduce a labeling system for AI-generated content.
However, the implementation of the system has been delayed, and the issue has now spread to fabricated reviews from ordinary consumers.
YouTube stated that it promptly removes such videos upon requests from the Korea Consumer Agency, but it has not introduced measures to proactively detect and block manipulated videos on its own.
(Video reporting: Kim Hangyul | Video editing: Lee Seung-yeol | Video source: Korea Consumer Agency)
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