A new TikTok account is posting videos that look like they are of Margot Robbie. This weird TikTok account is literally named “Unreal Margot” and is posting deepfakes, not real clips of the “Suicide Squad” star best known for playing Harley Quinn. The account’s bio even has the word “parody,” but that doesn’t mean the people watching have caught on.
One video of Robbie recreating one of the app’s viral trends shows her holding wine and two glasses while doing a little dance. This video has secured more than 17 million views and thousands of appreciating comments from people who believe it is from a real celebrity.
However, deepfakes are so real that it is not the people’s fault to believe it is true.
A 2021 PetaPixel report found that AI deepfake detectors can still be passed as real, and in 2019 UK doctors said in a study that almost 75 percent of the British public do not know what a deepfake is. Just this week some fans thought Paris Hilton and Tom Cruise were dating because of a convincing deepfake posted online.
Additionally, fans of online entertainment stars and singers are now more likely than before to create conspiracies when their adored celebs don’t act according to their expectations. TikTokers reported a therapist to the Chinese government in a dangerous and deranged display of fandom.
With that kind of online power, deepfakes and conspiracy theories are now more convincing and more dangerous unless something changes.