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Low reported severity Media Coverage

Thai PBS Verify says a Crystallum AI investment advert used an AI deepfake of a former NHK World anchor; she said she was shocked her image was used

In August 2025 Thai PBS Verify reported a Facebook advert that carried the Thai PBS World Tonight logo and showed a news anchor apparently interviewing two prominent Thai business leaders about an investment scheme called Crystallum AI. The anchor was a former NHK World presenter who had never anchored for Thai PBS. Thai PBS Verify traced the footage to a 2013 English-language report about flood housing, found that the logo had been changed and the English reporting replaced with a synthesized Thai voice, and said an AI detection tool gave a 72.3% probability that the clip was an AI deepfake. The former anchor said she was shocked her image was used to deceive people into investing and that it could discredit her reputation, and spoke out to warn others. No person who invested after seeing the advert is described.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
28 August 2025
Event location
Thailand
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Psychological Distress
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Finance · Work
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 1 source
6 claims: 6 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Unidentified AI deepfake tool that altered a 2013 news clip of a former NHK World anchor into a Thai-language investment advert with a synthesized voice, as described by Thai PBS Verify

What Happened

The advert. Thai PBS Verify reported on 28 August 2025 that a Facebook page was using the logo of the programme Thai PBS World Tonight to publish a video, distributed through Facebook ads, in which an anchor appeared to interview the executive chairman of Central Group and the honorary chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce. The clip urged people to invest in a project called CRYSTALLUM AI.

The AI finding. Thai PBS Verify identified the anchor as a former NHK World presenter who had never anchored for Thai PBS. Following her suggestion, it found the original footage: a 2013 English-language news report about building homes for flood victims, posted on a foundation's YouTube channel. Comparing the two, it found that the logo had been changed to Thai PBS's and that the English news reporting had been replaced by a synthesized Thai voice from AI. It said the HIVE moderation AI detection tool gave a 72.3% probability that the clip was an AI deepfake.

The anchor's account. According to Thai PBS Verify, this was the first time her image had been used in an AI deepfake. She was shocked that her image was used to deceive people into investing, said it could harm others and discredit her reputation, and spoke out so that no one else would be misled. Thai PBS World's director expressed concern that viewers might believe the clip, and Central Group posted a warning that it does not invite outsiders to invest in this way.

Limits. The sources do not identify who made the advert or which tool was used, when it began running, or anyone who invested after seeing it. The detector result is a probability. The video was not inspected.

Reported harm

A fake investment advert that Thai PBS Verify identified as an AI deepfake, with a synthesized Thai voice, used a former news anchor's image; she said she was shocked and that it could discredit her reputation (reported).

Outcome

Unknown

Thai PBS Verify published a fact check on 28 August 2025. Thai PBS World confirmed to Thai PBS Verify that the programme does not report in Thai, and Central Group posted a warning that it does not invite outsiders to invest in this way. No report to Meta, takedown, complaint or prosecution concerning this advert is reported.

What remains unknown

  • Who made the advert and which AI tool was used.
  • When the advert first ran and whether it was removed.
  • Whether anyone invested after seeing it.
  • Whether the depicted business leaders responded personally.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. Thai PBS Verify, which is not the former anchor's employer, compared the advert with the 2013 source report and found that the English reporting had been replaced with a synthesized Thai voice from AI; it also reports a 72.3% AI-deepfake probability from the HIVE moderation detector. The altered clip is what the Facebook advert showed viewers, and the former anchor said its use of her image could discredit her reputation. The tool and maker are not identified.

6 claims: 6 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported A Facebook advert using the Thai PBS World Tonight logo showed an anchor apparently interviewing two prominent Thai business leaders and urged people to invest in a scheme called CRYSTALLUM AI.

Causal attribution. Thai PBS Verify's description of the advert; the advert was not inspected.

  • thaipbs.or.th(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'AI Deepfake Clip Falsely Claims Thai PBS World Interviewed 2 Famous Businesspeople'; 'Thai PBS Verify discovered a fake advertisement that falsely used the Thai PBS World Tonight logo. It utilized AI deepfake technology to impersonate well-known news anchors and businesspeople, inviting people to invest in a scheme called CRYSTALLUM AI.'; 'The content of the clip encourages people to invest in a project called “CRYSTALLUM AI”. The video was distributed through Facebook ads and has received over 1,200 likes.'
Reported The anchor shown was a former NHK World presenter who had never anchored for Thai PBS.

Causal attribution. The former anchor's statement to Thai PBS Verify.

  • thaipbs.or.th(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'She has only appeared on programs related to teaching English but has never served as an anchor for the network.'
Reported Thai PBS Verify traced the footage to a 2013 news report and found that the logo had been changed and the English reporting replaced with a synthesized Thai voice from AI.

Causal attribution. Thai PBS Verify's own source comparison.

  • thaipbs.or.th(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'It was published on the “Join Us to Do Good for Society” YouTube channel of the Habitat for Humanity Thailand Foundation on February 28, 2013, and has no connection to any investment solicitation offering returns.'; 'Comparing the two clips revealed that the logo on the clip used was changed to the Thai PBS channel logo, and the language was changed from English news reporting to synthesized Thai voice reporting from AI.'
Reported Thai PBS Verify said the HIVE moderation AI detection tool gave a 72.3% probability that the clip was an AI deepfake.

Causal attribution. A detector probability reported by the fact-checker, not a certainty.

  • thaipbs.or.th(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'When the clip was examined using the AI detection tool from HIVEMODERATION, it was found to have a high probability of being an AI deepfake, at 72.3%.'
Reported Thai PBS Verify reported that it was the first time the former anchor's image had been used in an AI deepfake, that she was shocked it was used to deceive people into investing and could discredit her reputation, and that she felt it necessary to speak out so others would not be misled.

Causal attribution. Her account as reported by Thai PBS Verify after its interview with her.

  • thaipbs.or.th(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'having her image used in an AI deepfake was a first.'; 'She was shocked that her image was used to deceive people into investing, as it could cause harm to others and discredit her reputation. She felt it was necessary to speak out so that no one else would be misled in this way.'
Reported Thai PBS World's director expressed concern that viewers might believe the clip, and Central Group posted that it does not invite outsiders to invest in this way.

Causal attribution. Statements reported by Thai PBS Verify; Central Group's warning is general.

  • thaipbs.or.th(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'expressed personal concern and worry that viewers or anyone who sees the clip might believe it to be real.'; 'Central Group does not have a policy to invite external individuals to invest in this manner.'

Sources

1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

English original read in full; no translation. Applies to s1.

Event countries: Thailand. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Unknown.

Thai PBS Verify describes a Facebook advert offering returns on a baht investment ('Invest 8,000 Baht, Get a 5-Times Return') that impersonated two Thai business leaders, one of whose companies, Central Group, posted a public warning about the issue; the body does not otherwise say where the advert was shown. The former anchor's country of residence is not stated. No court is involved.

Reviewed for publication 2026-11-01: Published because a fact-checker that examined the clip found its English reporting replaced with a synthesized Thai voice from AI, with a supporting detector result, and the depicted former anchor said she was shocked and feared for her reputation.

People described

A former NHK World news anchor whose image was used in a fake investment advert

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person: the former NHK World news anchor shown in the clip, who told Thai PBS Verify she was shocked that her image was used to deceive people and could discredit her reputation, and spoke out (Thai PBS Verify, 28 Aug 2025). The two business leaders shown are not counted: Central Group posted a general warning and no personal response is reported. Likes and viewers are not counted.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#deepfake#investment-scam#facebook-ads#voice-synthesis#fact-check#thailand

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Thai PBS Verify says a Crystallum AI investment advert used an AI deepfake of a former NHK World anchor; she said she was shocked her image was used. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-thailand-crystallum-ai-investment-advert-used-deepfake-of-former-news-anchor

BibTeX

@misc{2025_thailand_crystallum_ai_investment_advert_used_deepfake_of_former_news_anchor,
  title = {Thai PBS Verify says a Crystallum AI investment advert used an AI deepfake of a former NHK World anchor; she said she was shocked her image was used},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-thailand-crystallum-ai-investment-advert-used-deepfake-of-former-news-anchor}
}

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