Nobody is safe from celebrity AI deepfakes
In hindsight, the post on Instagram should have raised more red flags. The image purported to show actress Mia Goth, just days after filing for divorce from actor and filmmaker Shia LaBeouf, posing in a T-shirt with a pointed message: MY EX IS MY BIGGEST FAN. To really drive home the point, the song "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" by Beyoncé was added to the post. It would have been out of character for the star…
Key points
- An AI-generated image of Mia Goth was posted on a verified Instagram fan account with over a million followers.
- The fake post received nearly 500,000 likes and spread to gossip outlets and Google search results.
- Meta removed the Goth account for impersonating a public figure, but similar celebrity deepfake accounts remain online.
An AI-generated image of actress Mia Goth was posted on Instagram by a fan account with more than a million followers and a blue verified checkmark. The fake photo, which showed Goth in a T-shirt reading 'MY EX IS MY BIGGEST FAN' and was set to Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies,' appeared days after news of her divorce filing from Shia LaBeouf. It received nearly 500,000 likes, including from entertainment industry peers, before Instagram removed the account for impersonating a public figure.
Goth's representative, Christine Tripicchio, told The Verge that the account had been reported before for posting 'counterfeit, AI images' of the actress. Meta allows users to buy blue verified checkmarks even for accounts not run by public figures. The incident spread to celebrity gossip outlets and Google search, where an AI overview and a prominent result section repeated the fake claim.
Platform policies and enforcement
Meta spokesperson Alex Dziedzan said the company removed some of eight accounts posting celebrity deepfake content after The Verge asked about them. Dziedzan stated, 'We do not permit accounts to use someone's likeness to pose as that individual, regardless of whether the content is authentic or AI-generated.' Meta requires AI labels for realistic videos and AI voices, but still images are exempt from the labeling requirement.
YouTube operates a likeness detection program that scans for visual and audio matches and allows takedown requests. YouTube spokesperson Jack Malon said that in the first half of 2026, the company removed over 95 percent of videos reported through the program. The program initially covered public figures but now includes every adult with a YouTube account.
We do not permit accounts to use someone's likeness to pose as that individual, regardless of whether the content is authentic or AI-generated.
— Alex Dziedzan
Ongoing deepfake accounts
Despite removals, other Instagram accounts continue to post AI-generated images of celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson, Millie Bobby Brown, Zendaya, and Ariana Grande. One account with over 300,000 followers still shares a mix of authentic and AI images of Johansson, including a popular AI image with nearly half a million likes and no AI disclosure. The article notes that AI content depicting female public figures is often overtly sexual.
