Tom Hanks has warned fans that an ad for a dental plan that appears to use his image is in fact fake and was created using artificial intelligence.

In a message posted to his 9.5 million Instagram followers, the actor said his image was used without his permission. “BEWARE!! There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it,” Hanks wrote over a screenshot of a computer-generated image of himself from the clip.

The Oscar winner has expressed concerns in the past about the use of AI in film and TV, although he has not shied away from approving digitally altered versions of himself in film.

  • Margot Robbie@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    As a famous celebrity who has to deal with this a lot, here is an easy guide to tell real celebrities accounts from fake celebrities accounts on the Internet: Ask yourself, would it make sense for the real celebrity to promote these product on social media?

    • Does it make sense for Academy Award winning character actor Tom Hanks to promote a random dental service? No, therefore, that is a fake account.

    • Does it make sense for pop superstar Taylor Swift to promote her latest re-recorded albums on her social media? Yes, therefore, that’s a real account.

    • Does it make sense for Academy Award nominated actress Margot Robbie to promote her latest movie on her first personal social media account in years? Yes, therefore, that’s a real account.

    • Does it make sense for Matt Damon, Tom Brady, or Kim Kardashian to promote cryptocurrency on their social media despite never showing any interest in technology before? No, therefore, these are fake accounts.

    • Does it make sense for Elon Musk, the richest man in the world in his 50s, to act like an immature middle schooler and post bad memes on the Internet to sell a cryptocurrency based on a dead meme? No, therefore, that’s a fake account.

    This method works every time.

    • soloner@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Does it make sense for Margot Robbie to point out what kind of accounts may be real or fake, including her own account in the example? Yes. Therefore it is a real account.

      Thanks Margot!

    • wolfpack86@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I appreciate that not only does Margot Robbie want to entertain me, she wants to educate me. True renaissance woman.

      • ShustOne@lemmy.one
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        1 year ago

        People made fun of the ad and the lines he said but people also don’t understand that he didn’t write it. Crypto.com was already going to fail by the time their crazy expensive ad came out. Matt Damon on the other hand seems to be doing just fine.

        • mateomaui@reddthat.com
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          1 year ago

          He’s an actor, so I don’t think anyone actually thought he wrote anything he said on that ad, but it was an endorsement, which is more difficult to parse whether or not he actually invested in or supported it. And, probably like most people, I didn’t care enough to read in depth about it afterward.

    • guacupado@lemmy.world
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      I didn’t see anything in the article about it, but is Tom Hanks not suing these people?

      Does it make sense for Elon Musk, the richest man in the world in his 50s, to act like an immature middle schooler and post bad memes on the Internet to sell a cryptocurrency based on a dead meme? No, therefore, that’s a fake account.

      This actually would make sense for someone like Elon Musk.

    • JonDavie@lemmy.flatcaptech.com
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      1 year ago

      Does it make sense for an internationally recognized actress to come into the Fediverse to explain too notch level critical thinking…hmm. Agree with the points - yep. Think it’s actually Margot Robbie - doubtful.

      I’m just applying the above rules

      • nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        That’s the beautiful thing. It doesn’t really matter if she’s actually Margot Robbie.

        If she isn’t, she’s a person (probably - AI/ML systems are really good at tricking us these days) that posts generally amusing, positive, and pro-labor things.

        If she is Margot Robbie, then, she’s a person that posts generally amusing, positive, and pro-labor things, while also having been publicly recognized as being skilled and talented at her day job.

        Either way, it’s someone that I’m glad is active on Lemmy.

    • bobman@unilem.org
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      1 year ago

      Ask yourself why you care what celebrities are promoting in the first place.

      Even if they are being ‘real’, odds are they were just paid to say good things about a product they never actually use to take advantage of idiots who can’t think for themselves.

    • mindbleach
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      The constant “wait, really?” seems deeply on-brand.

    • notatoad@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Does it make sense for Academy Award nominated actress Margot Robbie to promote her latest movie on her first personal social media account in years?

      does it make sense for academy award nominated actress Margot Robbie to cross the picket line to promote the barbie movie on lemmy during the sag-aftra strike? yep, she’s well-known for her anti-union politics and general disdain for labour. therefore, this must be a real account.

      • Margot Robbie@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        If you have been following me here at all, you would know that I have been extremely vocal about my support of the strike here, and I have been keeping with the strike rules and only mentioned the name of the movie ONCE here after the strike started.

        Your smug accusation only shows your own ignorance, while I do try to be nice here, I will not stand for you making light of our fight for survival as some kind of gotcha.

        Now kindly fuck off.

        • Spaceinv8er
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          Dune 2 was postponed because of the strike, and I was really looking forward to it.

          I mean I’m REALLY looking forward to that movie, but if my minor inconvenience means a better standard of living/opportunity for a large amount of people I’ll wait for however long.

        • Sea_pop@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          The Margot Robbie is Australian so this comment would have been written as ‘now kindly fuck off, cunt.’ Therefore, I am now questioning the legitimacy of this account.

          Hi Margot!!

      • millie@lemmy.film
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        1 year ago

        Source for that? Because all I’m seeing is footage of her striking with SAG and pro-union comments she’s made online.

        https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a45138901/margot-robbie-sag-aftra-strike-picket-line-outfit/

        https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishabassi/margot-robbie-sag-aftra-strike-support-actors-rights

        The attitude toward celebrities on Lemmy versus on Mastodon is really weird. Same thing with reddit, a lot of the time. Like, okay, I have no idea if that’s really Margot Robbie or not, but famous people do use the internet. Attention doesn’t make them a different species that forgets how to use keyboards or something.

        Might as well be nice?

        • notatoad@lemmy.world
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          i thought we were just joking around here, but if you’re being serious: there’s zero chance that’s actually Margot Robbie.

          or maybe like a 1% chance it’s actually Margot Robbie, but for the last three months she’s been playing a character on lemmy that’s a goofy impersonation of Margot Robbie that breaks character all the time.

          • millie@lemmy.film
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            1 year ago

            I mean, I have no idea if she’s Margot Robbie, but I figure I might as well treat her as if she is. Doesn’t cost me anything. It’s basically the solution to the solipsism problem with lower stakes.

            Personally, I think doing a goofy impression of yourself and occasionally breaking character would be a good way to fly under the radar.