Thai PBS Verify says Facebook investment advert used an AI deepfake of a Thai PBS World anchor; the anchor said viewers could take it for real news
In mid-2025 a Facebook page using a news outlet's logo ran a two-minute video as adverts in which a Thai PBS World news anchor appeared to interview the chief executive of the Miss Universe Organization about an online investment platform said to turn 8,000 baht into as much as 800,000 baht. Thai PBS Verify reported on 22 July 2025 that the clip was an AI deepfake: it traced the anchor's footage to a Thai PBS World Tonight report of 24 June 2025, and the chairman of the company Guardian AI, whom it consulted as an AI image technology specialist, cited lip movements that do not match the voice and blurred facial features. The anchor told Thai PBS Verify that ordinary viewers could mistake it for real news, that this was the most convincing of at least three or four such incidents in a year, and that she was worried. No person who invested after seeing the advert is described.
- AI system
- Unidentified video tool
- Occurred
- Event date unknown
- Reported
- 22 July 2025
- Event location
- Thailand
- What the AI did
- Depicted or impersonated the person
- Reported harm
- Reputational HarmPsychological Distress
- Whose AI use
- Someone else’s AI use
- Setting
- Finance · Work
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 2 sources, 1 underlying account
- 7 claims: 7 reported. 4 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: Unidentified AI deepfake tool used to make a video of a Thai PBS World anchor and the Miss Universe Organization chief executive promoting an investment, as described by Thai PBS Verify
What Happened
The advert. Thai PBS Verify reported on 22 July 2025 that a Facebook page using the logo of a well-known news outlet published a two-minute video, distributed as Facebook adverts and viewed 12,000 times, in which a Thai PBS World anchor appeared to interview the chief executive of the Miss Universe Organization. The clip, in English, invited the public and new graduates to invest in an automated financial platform said to be approved by the Thai government, starting with 8,000 baht and returning up to 800,000 baht. The page listed a website, phone numbers that could not be reached and a false address.
The AI finding. Thai PBS Verify traced the anchor's footage to a Thai PBS World Tonight report published on 24 June 2025 and the executive's footage to an interview published in February 2023. It asked the chairman of the company Guardian AI, consulted as a specialist in AI image technology, who confirmed that the clip was made with AI deepfake technology, citing lip movements that do not match the voice and blurring of the facial muscles and mouth. Thai PBS stated that it has no policy of reporting news or running adverts that invite people to invest.
The anchor's account. The anchor told Thai PBS Verify that such incidents had happened at least three or four times in one year and that this one was the most convincing. She said ordinary viewers who did not know the facts could mistake it for a real news clip, and that she was worried because anyone could become a victim of AI deepfakes. She had filed a police report after the first incident, with no progress in that case so far. In August 2025 Thai PBS Verify referred back to this case when reporting another deepfake advert using a Thai PBS logo.
Limits. The sources do not identify who made the video or which tool was used, and do not describe anyone who invested after seeing it. The specialist's examination is reported only through Thai PBS Verify, which is a unit of the anchor's employer. The video was not inspected.
Reported harm
A fake investment advert that Thai PBS Verify and a specialist it consulted identified as an AI deepfake showed a Thai PBS World anchor promoting an investment platform; she said viewers could be misled and that she was worried (reported).
Outcome
UnknownThai PBS Verify published a fact check on 22 July 2025 and Thai PBS stated that it does not run news reports or adverts inviting people to invest. The anchor said she had filed a police report after an earlier impersonation and that there had been no progress in that case. No complaint, takedown or prosecution concerning this advert is reported.
What remains unknown
- Who made the video and which AI tool was used.
- When the adverts first ran (between the 24 June 2025 broadcast and the 22 July 2025 fact check).
- Whether anyone invested after seeing the adverts.
- Whether the adverts were reported to Meta or removed, or a complaint was made about this advert.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. Thai PBS Verify traced the anchor's footage to a 24 June 2025 broadcast, and the chairman of the company Guardian AI, consulted as an AI image technology specialist, confirmed that it was made with AI deepfake technology, citing lip movements that do not match the voice and blurred facial features. The generated likeness is what the Facebook adverts showed viewers, and the anchor said it could mislead them. The tool and maker are not identified, and the examination is known only through Thai PBS Verify.
7 claims: 7 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported A Facebook page using a news outlet's logo distributed, as Facebook adverts viewed 12,000 times, a two-minute video in which a Thai PBS World anchor appeared to interview the Miss Universe Organization chief executive about an investment platform promising up to 800,000 baht from 8,000 baht.
Causal attribution. Thai PBS Verify's description of the adverts; the adverts were not inspected.
- thaipbs.or.th(opens in new tab) supports · Thai
'คลิปปลอม AI Deepfake แอบอ้างผู้ประกาศข่าว Thai PBS World รายงานข่าวสัมภาษณ์'; 'Thai PBS Verify ตรวจสอบพบเพจปลอมแอบอ้างใช้โลโก้สำนักข่าวชื่อดัง เผยแพร่คลิปวิดีโอความยาว 2 นาที'; 'ประธานเจ้าหน้าที่บริหารองค์กรมิสยูนิเวิร์ส เนื้อหาชักชวนลงทุนออนไลน์ เป็นภาษาอังกฤษ'; 'โดยเผยแพร่ในลักษณะการยิงโฆษณาผ่านแพลตฟอร์ม Facebook มียอดผู้เข้าชม 12,000 ครั้ง'; 'คลิปดังกล่าวมีการระบุว่า ผู้ลงทุนสามารถเริ่มต้นด้วยเงินเพียง 8,000 บาท และมีโอกาสได้รับผลตอบแทนสูงถึง 800,000 บาท'
Reported Thai PBS Verify traced the anchor's footage to a Thai PBS World Tonight report published on 24 June 2025.
Causal attribution. Thai PBS Verify's own source comparison.
- thaipbs.or.th(opens in new tab) supports · Thai
'จากการตรวจสอบเราพบ คลิปต้นฉบับถูกนำมาจากรายงานข่าวรายการ Thai PBS World Tonight ที่ถูกเผยแพร่เมื่อวันที่ 24 มิถุนายน 2025'
Reported The chairman of the company Guardian AI, consulted by Thai PBS Verify as an AI image technology specialist, confirmed that the clip was made with AI deepfake technology, citing lip movements that do not match the voice and blurred facial muscles and mouth.
Causal attribution. The specialist's examination as reported by Thai PBS Verify; his own report was not inspected.
- thaipbs.or.th(opens in new tab) supports · Thai
'ประธานบริษัท Guardian AI ยืนยันว่าคลิปดังกล่าวสร้างจาก AI-deepfake โดยให้ข้อสังเกตการขยับรูปปากของบุคคลในคลิปที่ไม่ตรงกับเสียง และลักษณะคุณภาพของภาพในคลิปวิดีโอ กล้ามเนื้อใบหน้า รูปปาก มีลักษณะเบลอ'; 'สอบถามผู้เชียวชาญด้านเทคโนโลยีภาพ AI ยืนยันว่าคลิปดังกล่าวสร้างจาก AI Deepfake'
Reported The anchor said such incidents had occurred at least three or four times in one year, that this was the most convincing, that ordinary viewers could mistake it for real news, and that she was worried.
Causal attribution. The anchor's account in her interview with Thai PBS Verify.
- thaipbs.or.th(opens in new tab) supports · Thai
'เพียงปีเดียว มีเหตุการณ์ลักษณะดังกล่าวเกิดขึ้นแล้วอย่างน้อย 3–4 ครั้ง ซึ่งครั้งนี้ถือว่าแนบเนียนและสมจริงมากที่สุด'; 'แต่ผู้ชมทั่วไปที่ไม่ทราบข้อเท็จจริง อาจเข้าใจผิดได้ว่าเป็นคลิปข่าวจริง'; 'มีความกังวลในเรื่องนี้ เพราะตอนนี้ใคร ๆ ก็สามารถตกเป็นเหยื่อ AI-Deepfake'
Reported The anchor said she had filed a police report after the first such incident and that there had been no progress in that case.
Causal attribution. The anchor's account; the report concerns an earlier impersonation, not this advert.
- thaipbs.or.th(opens in new tab) supports · Thai
'เบื้องต้นหลังจากตกเป็นผู้เสียหายในครั้งแรก ทางผู้ประกาศข่าว ได้เข้าแจ้งความที่สถานีตำรวจแล้ว แต่จนถึงขณะนี้ยังไม่มีความคืบหน้าในทางคดี'
Reported Thai PBS stated that it has no policy of reporting news or running adverts that invite people to invest, and Thai PBS Verify found that the page listed a website link, phone numbers that could not be reached and a false address.
Causal attribution. Thai PBS's statement and its fact-check unit's own checks.
- thaipbs.or.th(opens in new tab) supports · Thai
'นอกจากนี้ยืนยันว่า Thai PBS ไม่มีนโยบายรายงานข่าวหรือโฆษณาใด ๆ ที่มีลักษณะชักชวนให้ประชาชนร่วมลงทุน'; 'นอกจากนี้ยังตรวจสอบพบว่า หน้าเพจดังกล่าวประกอบไปด้วย ลิงก์เว็บไซต์ เบอร์ติดต่อที่ไม่สามารถติดต่อได้ และที่อยู่เท็จ'
Reported In August 2025 Thai PBS Verify referred back to this case as an earlier deepfake of a Thai PBS World anchor.
Causal attribution. Later reference by the same fact-check unit; not independent of s1.
- thaipbs.or.th(opens in new tab) supports · English
'This is not the first time Thai PBS World news anchors have been victims of deepfakes used'
Sources
2 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- Thai PBS Verify, 22 Jul 2025: clip of Thai PBS anchor reporting on Miss Universe executive's investment offer was a deepfake(opens in new tab)
s1 · thaipbs.or.th · News report · Thai · Inspected · 22 July 2025 · Shares an underlying account with another listed source · Primary
- Thai PBS Verify, 28 Aug 2025: AI deepfake clip falsely claims Thai PBS World interviewed two businesspeople(opens in new tab)
s2 · thaipbs.or.th · News report · English · Inspected · Shares an underlying account with another listed source
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Thai original read in full; translation by the research agent (an AI), not by a human translator. Applies to s1.
English original read in full; no translation. Applies to s2.
Event countries: Thailand. Affected-person countries: Thailand. Court countries: Unknown.
Thai PBS Verify describes adverts on Facebook inviting Thai people and new graduates to invest in a platform said to be approved by the Thai government, using the likeness of an anchor of the Thai public broadcaster's English service; the anchor filed her earlier report at a police station in the same account. No court is involved.
Reviewed for publication 2026-11-01: Published because a fact-check unit and an AI image technology specialist it consulted identified the investment advert as an AI deepfake of a news anchor, and the anchor said ordinary viewers could mistake it for real news and that she was worried. The AI finding is reported through Thai PBS Verify.
People described
A Thai PBS World news anchor whose image and voice were used in a fake investment advert
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed
One person: the Thai PBS World news anchor shown in the clip, who told Thai PBS Verify that ordinary viewers could take it for real news, that she was worried and that she had been impersonated at least three or four times in one year (Thai PBS Verify, 22 Jul 2025). The pageant executive also shown is not counted because no response from her is reported; the 12,000 views are not counted.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Thai PBS Verify says Facebook investment advert used an AI deepfake of a Thai PBS World anchor; the anchor said viewers could take it for real news. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-thailand-facebook-investment-advert-used-ai-deepfake-of-news-anchor
BibTeX
@misc{2025_thailand_facebook_investment_advert_used_ai_deepfake_of_news_anchor,
title = {Thai PBS Verify says Facebook investment advert used an AI deepfake of a Thai PBS World anchor; the anchor said viewers could take it for real news},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-thailand-facebook-investment-advert-used-ai-deepfake-of-news-anchor}
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