366
submitted 1 month ago by lemmee_in@lemm.ee to c/technology@lemmy.world

As families desperately seek to find missing loved ones and communities grapple with immeasurable losses of both life and property in the wake of Hurricane Helene, AI slop scammers appear to be capitalizing on the moment for personal gain.

A Facebook account called "Coastal Views" usually shares calmer AI imagery of nature-filled beachside scenes. The account's banner image showcases a signpost reading "OBX Live," OBX being shorthand for North Carolina's Outer Banks islands.

But starting this weekend, the account shifted its approach dramatically, as first flagged by a social media user on X.

Instead of posting "photos" of leaping dolphins and sandy beaches, the account suddenly started publishing images of flooded mountain neighborhoods, submerged houses, and dogs sitting on top of roofs.

But instead of spreading vital information to those affected by the natural disaster, or at the very least sharing real photos of the destruction, the account is seemingly trying to use AI to cash in on all the attention the hurricane has been getting.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] jewbacca117@lemmy.world 69 points 1 month ago

This is bizarre to me. There's plenty of actual pictures of hurrican devastation.

[-] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 56 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)
[-] Shapillon@lemmy.world 27 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Amen!

I wanted to put Gordon Ramsay but the AI wouldn't let me so I chose the next best thing.

[-] kureta@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 month ago
[-] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago

Yea, but if you have your own OC devastation, you can broadcast your gofundme scam or whatever.

[-] bane_killgrind@slrpnk.net 13 points 1 month ago

Yeah but actual journalism is a cost center

Just generate images and text from the general idea and you are good

[-] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 month ago

If I can pump out fake flood pictures, I can convince a couple million Americans that none of the flood images are real. That it’s ALL AI generated. Thus I can make roughly $100k on ad impressions and further convince people that climate change is a hoax.

this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2024
366 points (98.4% liked)

Technology

59583 readers
2417 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS