Deepfakes are spreading, putting creator and brand safety at risk

Michel Janse, who said her likeness was recently used without her consent, told Marketing Brew the experience was “violating.” Creator Michel Janse says she was on her honeymoon when she learned that her likeness was being used to promote erectile-dysfunction pills online. “People had messaged me, saying, ‘Hey, I saw this ad, and it didn't look like you, but it was you,’” she told Marketing Brew. “It was me, in my clothes, in my bedroom, but I didn't do an ad there.” Janse says the ad, which she briefly showed on her TikTok account, was a deepfake, and depicted Janse talking about her husband “Michael” and his issues with ED. The ad pulled visuals from a 33-minute video about her divorce that she posted to YouTube a year ago, which she called “by far the most personal thing I’ve ever shared.” That, along with the fact that the link in the ad directed to content that she described as “basically pornographic,” made the experience all the more violating, Janse told us.