Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has recently brought to light the increasing prevalence of deepfake scam videos on YouTube, a development that poses significant concerns in the cryptocurrency industry. These sophisticated scams use advanced AI technology to create highly realistic imitations of public figures, including Garlinghouse.
There’s been an uptick in deepfake scam videos (ex below) overlaying new words with old video footage from Ripple’s events (@YouTube are you asleep at the wheel again?!). Reminder: don't trust, verify (all approved messaging will only come from official Ripple accounts). pic.twitter.com/e30ZhOk6DW
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) November 13, 2023
Garlinghouse raised questions about YouTube’s effectiveness in managing such deceptive content, urging the public to exercise caution and verify all information, stressing that only official Ripple accounts disseminate approved messages. In one notable instance, scammers manipulated old video footage from Ripple events, overlaying new words to fabricate a deceptive narrative.
The scam lured viewers with a deceptive XRP giveaway, claiming to double any amount of XRP sent by users. The video featured a voice strikingly similar to that of Garlinghouse, falsely advertising this offer as a community support effort from Ripple. Certain viewers noticed inconsistencies in the video, especially in the movements of Garlinghouse’s lips, suggesting that the video might be fake.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market experienced turbulence due to a scam involving a fictitious BlackRock XRP Trust. The filing falsely attributed to BlackRock appeared on the official Delaware Investment Trusts registration website, leading to a significant fluctuation in XRP’s price.
The filing, which was not from BlackRock, triggered over 15% surge in XRP price, followed by a rapid decline once the news was debunked. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas clarified that the filing was fake, intensifying concerns about the misuse of corporate identities in the digital space.
Ripple’s previous legal confrontation with YouTube centered around the platform’s handling of similar fraudulent content. The company had sued YouTube for its failure to effectively control scams misrepresenting Ripple and its executives. The lawsuit was settled, with YouTube agreeing to implement better measures to prevent such deceptive practices. However, the emergence of these recent deepfake scams and the BlackRock XRP Trust scam has cast doubt on whether further legal action might be necessary.
