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NOPE
Low reported severity Media Coverage

Argentine news programme shows an AI-made video using its anchor's cloned image and voice to promote an online casino; co-host says his clean image was used

On 29 September 2026 the Argentine news programme Telenoche (El Trece) showed a video circulating on social media in which its anchor Nelson Castro appears to announce that 'Casino Santa Fe' is now available online. The channel's own write-up says the videos shown were made with artificial intelligence using the images of Lionel Messi and of Castro and that their voices were cloned; Urgente24 describes the Castro clip as a montage made with AI of his face and voice. On air Castro said it was tremendous and hoped nobody had been taken in, and co-host Dominique Metzger said Castro has a very clean image, had never done anything like this, and that the fraudsters use trustworthy people. Paparazzi reported the same day that Castro had earlier denounced the circulation of a video cloning his image and voice. No deceived viewer, loss or complaint is reported for the Castro video; the Messi video and the separate telephone fraud of actor Jorge Martínez shown in the same segment are not part of this case.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
29 September 2026
Event location
Argentina
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Reputational Harm
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Everyday life · Work
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts
4 claims: 4 reported. 5 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Unidentified AI video generation with voice cloning, described by El Trece (Telenoche) as videos made with artificial intelligence using the anchor's image with his voice cloned, and by Urgente24 as a montage made with AI of his face and voice

What Happened

The segment. El Trece's write-up of its 29 September 2026 Telenoche broadcast says technology journalist Jason Mayne showed videos made with artificial intelligence that use the images of footballer Lionel Messi and of the programme's anchor and that their voices were also cloned. The second video used Castro's image: it opens with 'Amigos, hoy estoy aquí para decirles la verdad que muchos han esperado por mucho tiempo' and continues that 'Casino Santa Fe' is now available online, is not a rumour, advertising or a hoax, and can be accessed from a phone or computer (El Trece, Urgente24). Urgente24 (1 October) states that Castro never promoted an online casino, that the anchor appears speaking to camera with his face and voice, and that it is all a montage made with AI.

Reactions. On seeing the video Castro said: 'Es tremendo. Espero que nadie se haya enganchado'. Co-host Dominique Metzger added that Castro has a very clean image, has never done anything like this, and that the fraudsters use good, trustworthy people (El Trece, Urgente24). Paparazzi, reporting the same day on a separate altered clip of TN presenter Carolina Amoroso, states that Castro had already denounced the circulation of a video in which his image and voice were digitally cloned for deceptive purposes.

What is not established. No tool is identified; the AI description is the broadcaster's and Urgente24's. Where the video was posted, who made it, whether it was paid advertising, and whether any viewer was deceived or lost money are not stated. The Messi investment video shown in the same segment and the telephone fraud suffered by actor Jorge Martínez are separate matters.

Reported harm

A news anchor's face and cloned voice were used, according to his own channel's write-up and Urgente24, in an AI-made video promoting an online casino he never endorsed; his programme exposed it on air, he said he hoped nobody had been taken in, and his co-host said his clean image was being exploited (El Trece, Urgente24). No deceived viewer or loss is reported.

How Harm Occurred

A generated video placed an invented casino endorsement in the mouth of a news anchor, using his face and cloned voice to borrow the credibility his own channel describes as a very clean image; the anchor's programme exposed the video as fake on air.

Outcome

Ongoing

The channel exposed the video on air on 29 September 2026 in a segment on AI-made scam videos (El Trece, Urgente24); Paparazzi says Castro had earlier denounced its circulation. No police report, platform action, deceived viewer or loss is reported in the inspected sources.

What remains unknown

  • What tool produced the video and who made it.
  • Where and when the video was posted and whether it was paid advertising.
  • Whether any viewer was deceived or lost money through the casino promotion.
  • When and in what form Castro had earlier denounced the video.
  • Whether the channel, a platform or the police took any action.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. El Trece's own write-up of the Telenoche segment says the videos shown were made with artificial intelligence using the images of Messi and of its anchor and that their voices were cloned, and Urgente24 says the clip in which Castro appears speaking to camera with his face and voice is a montage made with AI. That generated endorsement of an online casino is the reported harm: the anchor's programme exposed it on air, he hoped nobody had been taken in, and the co-host said his clean image was being exploited. No tool is named and the research agent did not inspect the video.

4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported A video circulating on social media shows Nelson Castro appearing to announce that 'Casino Santa Fe' is available online; Castro never promoted an online casino.

Causal attribution. The clip was shown on Telenoche; Urgente24 rewrites the same segment, so one origin.

Reported El Trece describes the videos shown as made with artificial intelligence using the anchor's image with his voice cloned, and Urgente24 describes the Castro clip as a montage made with AI of his face and voice.

Causal attribution. The AI description is the broadcaster's and Urgente24's; no tool is identified and no technical analysis is reported.

  • eltrecetv.com.ar(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    'Jason Mayne mostró videos hechos con Inteligencia Artificial que usan la imagen del futbolista y del periodista y conductor de Telenoche.'; 'También clonaron sus voces'
  • urgente24.com(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    'El periodista aparece hablando a cámara, con su rostro y su voz, pero es todo un montaje hecho con IA.'
Reported On air Castro said it was tremendous and hoped nobody had been taken in, and co-host Dominique Metzger said Castro has a very clean image, had never done anything like this, and that the fraudsters use trustworthy people.

Causal attribution. Statements made on the broadcast as quoted by the channel and by Urgente24 (one origin).

  • eltrecetv.com.ar(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    'Al verlo, Nelson quedó sorprendido y señaló: “Es tremendo. Espero que nadie se haya enganchado”. Y Dominique Metzger agregó: “Nelson que tiene una imagen súper limpia. Nunca ha hecho nada de esto, jamás. Pero claro, utilizan gente de bien gente confiable”.'
  • urgente24.com(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    'Castro, al verse, dijo: “Es tremendo. Espero que nadie se haya enganchado”'
Reported Paparazzi states that Castro had earlier denounced the circulation of a video in which his image and voice were digitally cloned for deceptive purposes.

Causal attribution. A background sentence in an article about another presenter; when and where Castro denounced the video is not stated.

  • paparazzi.com.ar(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    'Nelson Castro ya había denunciado la circulación de un video en el que clonaron digitalmente su imagen y su voz con fines engañosos'

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

Read in Spanish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-07 and 2026-10-08 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. The broadcaster's own write-up of its segment; HTTP 200. Applies to s1.

Read in Spanish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-07 and 2026-10-08 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Urgente24 rewrites the Telenoche segment and adds its own description of the clip; HTTP 200. Applies to s2.

Read in Spanish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-07 and 2026-10-08 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Article about a different presenter that mentions Castro's earlier denunciation in one sentence; HTTP 200. Applies to s3.

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

The video imitates the anchor of an Argentine news programme and promotes a casino the clip calls known throughout Argentina; the segment was broadcast by El Trece in Argentina. Where the video was produced or posted is not stated. No court proceeding is reported.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-08: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated) at low severity: the anchor's own broadcaster describes the circulating casino video as made with artificial intelligence with his voice cloned, the clip's invented endorsement is quoted, and the programme exposed it on air with the anchor hoping nobody had been taken in and the co-host saying his clean image was exploited. He is a public figure and is named; no tool is identified and no deceived viewer or loss is reported.

People described

Nelson Castro, anchor of the Argentine news programme Telenoche (El Trece), whose image and voice were used in a circulating video promoting an online casino

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person counted: Nelson Castro, the anchor depicted in the AI-made casino video (El Trece, Urgente24). Lionel Messi, depicted in the other video shown in the segment, belongs to a separately held case and is not counted; viewers are not counted and no deceived person is described.

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

Tags

#deepfake#impersonation#journalist#gambling#argentina#social_media

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Argentine news programme shows an AI-made video using its anchor's cloned image and voice to promote an online casino; co-host says his clean image was used. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-argentina-news-anchor-ai-cloned-video-promoting-online-casino-shown-on-telenoche

BibTeX

@misc{2026_argentina_news_anchor_ai_cloned_video_promoting_online_casino_shown_on_telenoche,
  title = {Argentine news programme shows an AI-made video using its anchor's cloned image and voice to promote an online casino; co-host says his clean image was used},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-argentina-news-anchor-ai-cloned-video-promoting-online-casino-shown-on-telenoche}
}

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