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Low reported severity Investigation Opened

Consumer Protection WA says a YouTube investment-scam advert used an AI deepfake of Premier Roger Cook; he said he was very distressed by it

In early November 2025 a pop-up advertisement on YouTube used the likeness and voice of Western Australia's Premier, Roger Cook, to promote an investment it claimed the government endorsed, requiring a $400 contribution. Consumer Protection WA, told of the advert by a member of the public on Friday 7 November, warned that it was a deepfake investment scam created using artificial intelligence, said it was investigating and asked the domain host to remove the scam website. Its commissioner told ABC News that, watched slowly, the lips do not move in time with the words and the hands look unusual. The Premier said on 8 November that he was very distressed to see his image used in this way and called the scam very scary and disgusting. No person who paid money after seeing the advert is described.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
Nov 2025
Reported
7 November 2025
Event location
Australia
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Psychological DistressReputational Harm
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Finance · Public life
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts
5 claims: 5 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Unidentified AI deepfake tool used to make a video advert with the likeness and voice of the Premier of Western Australia, as described by Consumer Protection WA

What Happened

The advert. A pop-up video advertisement on YouTube used Roger Cook's likeness and voice to encourage people to sign up for a 'low investment, high return' opportunity it said was endorsed by the government, starting with $400 (ABC News; The West Australian). A member of the public told Consumer Protection WA about it on the morning of Friday 7 November 2025.

The AI finding. Consumer Protection WA's statement said this was a deepfake investment scam created using artificial intelligence to mimic the Premier's likeness and voice, and that it was actively investigating and had reported the scam website to the domain host for removal. Its commissioner, Trish Blake, told ABC News that when the video is watched slowly the lips are not moving in time with the words and the hands look a bit unusual, and that her team identified the domain holder and asked for removal. The statement does not name the tool or the maker.

The Premier's response. On Saturday 8 November Cook said he was very distressed to see his image used in this way, called the scam very scary and disgusting, and said the government does not endorse investment schemes. He said that if you look closely you can tell it is fake but that it could look legitimate to a casual observer. The West Australian reported that he also jokingly asked people to keep trusting the real him.

Limits. The sources do not identify who made the advert, which tool was used, how many people saw it, or anyone who paid money after seeing it. The advert was not inspected. Consumer Protection WA is a state agency and the Premier heads the state government; the agency's attribution is supported by its commissioner's description of visible signs of generation.

Reported harm

A YouTube investment-scam advert that Consumer Protection WA said was an AI deepfake used the Western Australian Premier's likeness and voice; he said he was very distressed to see his image used this way (reported).

Outcome

Unknown

Consumer Protection WA issued a public warning on 7 November 2025, said it was actively investigating, and reported the scam website to its domain host asking for removal. The Premier said the government does not endorse investment schemes and urged people not to trust such videos. No removal by YouTube, prosecution or identified victim is reported in the sources read.

What remains unknown

  • Who made the advert and which AI tool was used.
  • When the advert first appeared and how many people saw it.
  • Whether anyone paid money after seeing it.
  • Whether YouTube removed the advert and what the investigation found.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. Consumer Protection WA, which investigated the advert and pursued the scam website's domain host, stated that it was a deepfake created using artificial intelligence to mimic the Premier's likeness and voice, and its commissioner described visible signs: lips not moving in time with the words and unusual hands. The generated likeness is what the advert presented to viewers and what the Premier said distressed him. No source names the tool or the maker.

5 claims: 5 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported A pop-up video advertisement on YouTube used Premier Roger Cook's likeness and voice to promote an investment opportunity it said was endorsed by the government, requiring a $400 contribution.

Causal attribution. Description of the advert by ABC News and The West Australian; the advert was not inspected.

  • abc.net.au(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The pop-up video advertisement on YouTube uses Mr Cook's likeness and voice, encouraging the public to sign up for the "low investment, high return, real results" opportunity.'; '"With an initial investment of just $400, users are seeing average returns of around $19,200 in their first month."'
  • harveyreporter.com.au(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Consumer Protection WA late on Friday released a warning of the online ad using an AI deepfake of the Premier promoting an investment opportunity which required victims to pay a $400 contribution.'; 'The video appeared on YouTube and said it was “endorsed by the Government”.'
Reported Consumer Protection WA stated that the advert was a deepfake investment scam created using artificial intelligence to mimic the Premier's likeness and voice, and said it was actively investigating and had reported the scam website to the domain host for removal.

Causal attribution. The agency's statement as reported by The West Australian (one origin).

  • harveyreporter.com.au(opens in new tab) supports · English
    '“This is a deepfake investment scam created using artificial intelligence, to mimic the Premier’s likeness and voice,” the watchdog’s statement read.'
  • broomead.com.au(opens in new tab) supports · English
    '“This is a deepfake investment scam created using artificial intelligence, to mimic the Premier’s likeness and voice,” Consumer Protection said in a statement.'; '“We are actively investigating this matter and have reported the scam website to the domain host to request it be removed swiftly to help prevent further spread,” they said.'
Reported Consumer Protection WA Commissioner Trish Blake said that when the video is watched slowly the lips are not moving in time with the words and the hands look unusual, and that her team, told of the advert by a member of the public on Friday morning, identified the domain holder and asked for removal.

Causal attribution. The commissioner's account to ABC News; the technical basis for the AI attribution.

  • abc.net.au(opens in new tab) supports · English
    '"So when you've got time to watch the video slowly, you can see that the lips are not moving in time with the words, and that the hands look a bit unusual.'; 'The watchdog was advised of the ad on Friday morning by a member of the public, with the team then able to determine the domain holder, before contacting them and requesting it be removed.'; '"Unfortunately, it's a bit like a giant game of whack-a-mole … as soon as we take them down, they pop up again," she said.'
Reported The Premier said he was very distressed to see his image used in this way and called the scam very scary and disgusting.

Causal attribution. The Premier's remarks of 8 November as reported by ABC News and The West Australian (one origin).

  • abc.net.au(opens in new tab) supports · English
    '"I was obviously very distressed to see my image used in this way.'; '"It's very scary that people go to such lengths to deceive people and to try and scam them out of their hard earned dollars. It's disgusting,"'
  • harveyreporter.com.au(opens in new tab) supports · English
    '“I was obviously very distressed to see my image used in this way.'; '“It’s pretty distressing, isn’t it? It’s very scary that people go to such lengths to deceive people and to try to scam them out of their hard earned dollars and it’s disgusting,” he said on Saturday.'
Reported The Premier said that if you look closely you can tell the video is fake but that it could look legitimate to a casual observer, and jokingly asked people to keep trusting the real him.

Causal attribution. The West Australian's report of the same remarks; context for the Premier's response.

  • harveyreporter.com.au(opens in new tab) supports · English
    '“If you look closely, you can tell it’s fake, but I can understand to the casual observer, it looks legitimate, it’s not.”'; 'While issuing a warning of the scam, Mr Cook jokingly asked for the community to keep trusting the real him.'

Sources

3 sources inspected, from 2 underlying accounts. 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, s2, s3.

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

The advert used the Premier of Western Australia and was reported to and investigated by Western Australia's consumer protection agency, which warned the state's public (ABC News; The West Australian). No court is involved. Where the advert was made is unknown.

Reviewed for publication 2026-11-02: Published because the state consumer protection agency that investigated the advert stated it was an AI deepfake and its commissioner described visible signs of generation, and the depicted Premier said he was very distressed to see his image used.

People described

The Premier of Western Australia, whose likeness 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 Premier of Western Australia, whose likeness and voice the advert used and who said he was very distressed to see his image used in this way (ABC News; The West Australian). No person who paid money after seeing the advert is described; viewers and the public warned 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#youtube-ads#consumer-protection#western-australia

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Consumer Protection WA says a YouTube investment-scam advert used an AI deepfake of Premier Roger Cook; he said he was very distressed by it. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-western-australia-ai-deepfake-of-premier-in-youtube-investment-scam-advert-premier-distressed

BibTeX

@misc{2025_western_australia_ai_deepfake_of_premier_in_youtube_investment_scam_advert_premier_distressed,
  title = {Consumer Protection WA says a YouTube investment-scam advert used an AI deepfake of Premier Roger Cook; he said he was very distressed by it},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-western-australia-ai-deepfake-of-premier-in-youtube-investment-scam-advert-premier-distressed}
}

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