Alleged AI-Generated Videos Depict Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus Endorsing Betting Platforms

Bangladesh's Chief Adviser's Press Wing has warned the public about alleged AI-generated videos depicting Muhammad Yunus endorsing gambling apps. The videos reportedly reuse footage from legitimate interviews, manipulated with purportedly fabricated audio and visuals. At least two such alleged deepfakes have circulated on Facebook. The account that published them reportedly appears to be operated by multiple users located in Lithuania, misleading viewers with claims of guaranteed earnings. The government has urged users not to trust or share these videos.

Risk classification

• Primary risk domain: 4 Malicious actors
• Primary risk subdomain: 4.3 Fraud, scams, and targeted manipulation

The incident involves malicious actors using AI-generated deepfakes of a public figure to deceive social media users for financial gain through fraudulent gambling apps.

Additional risk subdomains

• 3.1 False or misleading information: The deepfakes generate fabricated statements and fake news reports, spreading misleading information to the public.

Causal factors

• Entity: Human
• Intent: Intentional
• Timing: Post-deployment

The risk was caused by human gamblers intentionally creating and deploying deepfake videos to defraud the public using deployed AI tools.

EU AI Act risk tier

• Risk tier: 3 Limited Risk

Limited Risk: The report describes 'AI-generated deepfake videos' which fall under the transparency obligations of Risk Level 3 for AI-generated content.

AI system and alleged parties

• AI system: None named
• AI purpose: Deepfake Video Generation; Voice Generation
• Behaviour type: Tool
• Alleged developer: Unknown voice cloning technology developers, Unknown deepfake technology developers
• Alleged deployer: Unknown scammers, Unknown scammer impersonating Muhammad Yunus
• Alleged harmed parties: Muhammad Yunus, Government of Bangladesh, General public of Bangladesh

Harm severity

Severity ratings are based on this scale.

Highest direct severity in any category: Minor. Severity is scored from Negligible to Catastrophic in each harm category, for harm the reports describe as caused directly or indirectly by the AI system.

• Physical: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Infrastructure: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Property: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Financial: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Environmental: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Malicious content: direct Minor, indirect Negligible
• Differential treatment: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Civil rights: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Democracy: direct Negligible, indirect Minor
• Privacy: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Psychological: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Epistemic: direct Minor, indirect Minor
• Child sexual exploitation and abuse: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible

Malicious content

Reported: Yes, the report describes AI-generated deepfake videos created to mimic news reports and fake statements to promote gambling.

Directly caused: The creation of deepfake videos showing the Chief Adviser endorsing gambling apps ('Blue Live' and 'Crazy Time Bangladesh') using manipulated footage and robotic synthetic voices.

Inferred additional harm: It is likely that these deepfake videos reached thousands of social media users on Meta's platforms before being flagged or removed.

Democracy

Reported: Yes, the report describes the exploitation of the Chief Adviser's popularity and the fabrication of government initiatives to support student movements or flood victims.

Indirectly caused: The use of the Chief Adviser's likeness to falsely claim the government launched a gambling/investment app, potentially undermining public trust in government communications.

Inferred additional harm: Continued proliferation of deepfakes of high-ranking government officials could erode public trust in official state channels and democratic institutions.

Epistemic

Reported: Yes, the report explicitly describes AI-driven fabrication of news reports and fake statements attributed to the Chief Adviser.

Directly caused: The creation of fake videos where the Chief Adviser appears to invite people to gamble for financial gain and falsely claims the government launched an investment app.

Indirectly caused: The misleading videos featured the bdnews24.com logo, falsely associating a legitimate news outlet with the fraudulent content.

Inferred additional harm: The spread of such highly realistic deepfakes makes it harder for the public to distinguish between real and fabricated government announcements, eroding the shared information ecosystem.

People affected

• Occurrences reported: 5

Potential causes

Management

• Lack of Proactive Monitoring: Platform management failed to detect and block recurring deepfake campaigns.

Technology

• AI Deepfake Video Generation: AI tools were used to manipulate facial movements and mimic the Chief Adviser.
• Robotic Voice Synthesis: AI voice cloning mimicked the victim's voice, though it remained robotic.

Data Inputs

• Exploitation of Public Footage: Real interview footage from Al Jazeera and News24 was used as input data.
• Unauthorized Use of Media Logos: The bdnews24.com logo was added to the video to fake credibility.

Human Factors

• Targeting Vulnerable Users: Gamblers exploited public trust in the Chief Adviser to deceive citizens.
• Malicious Actor Motivation: Lithuanian-operated accounts created deepfakes for financial gain.

Process and Methods

• Inadequate Ad Moderation: Meta's platforms allowed fraudulent deepfake gambling ads to be distributed.
• Weak Account Verification: Fake accounts created in 2022 could easily post deceptive content.

Regulatory Environment

• Weak Social Media Regulation: Lack of strict regulatory enforcement on deepfakes and illegal gambling ads.

Information quality

• Classification confidence: High
• Reason for confidence: The report clearly details the nature of the deepfakes, the platforms used, the specific apps promoted, and the government's response. The role of AI as a tool for malicious actors is explicit, and boundary rules clearly point to 4.3.
• Ambiguities identified: The specific AI tools or models used to generate the deepfakes are not identified.
• Alternative interpretations: The incident could be viewed as a political disinformation campaign (4.1), but the primary intent is clearly financial fraud/scams targeting individuals, making 4.3 the most appropriate primary classification.

AI-generated deepfake videos of Bangladesh's Chief Adviser were circulated on social media to promote fraudulent gambling applications. While the incident represents a minor threat to government trust and public information integrity, it is primarily a financially motivated scam rather than a coordinated national security threat.

• Overall national security impact: Minor
• Scope: Single nation
• Primary target: Bangladesh
• Alleged perpetrator: Unknown

Threat characteristics

• Imminence: Near-term. Active circulation of deepfakes requires ongoing public monitoring and social media moderation to prevent ongoing fraud.
• Autonomy: Human-controlled. AI tools were used as static generation instruments controlled entirely by human fraudsters to create the deepfake media.
• Novelty: Established threat. Deepfake technology used for financial scams and impersonating public figures is a well-established threat globally.

Impact by dimension

• Physical security: Negligible. The incident involves digital deepfakes on social media and does not target physical infrastructure, weapons systems, or human safety.
• Information security: Minor. AI-generated deepfakes mimic a head of government to promote scams. While misleading, it is a financially motivated fraud rather than a coordinated state-sponsored information warfare campaign.
• Sovereignty: Minor. The Chief Adviser's likeness and fake government initiatives were fabricated, posing a minor risk of eroding public trust in official state communications, managed through standard public warnings.
• Economic security: Negligible. The incident targets individuals through localized gambling scams, with no systemic threat to financial systems, critical supply chains, or strategic technologies.
• Societal stability: Minor. The scam exploits public trust and targets individuals with fraudulent schemes, but does not cause large-scale civil unrest or systematic human rights violations.