Purported AI-Generated Impersonations of Albanian Cardiologist Spiro Qirko and Journalist Ilir Topi Were Reportedly Used on Facebook to Promote Hypertension Product in Kosovo

An allegedly AI-generated video circulating on Facebook appeared to impersonate Albanian cardiologist Spiro Qirko and journalist Ilir Topi in order to market "Hyper Caps" as a treatment for hypertension in Kosovo. Reporting indicated that both men denied involvement. An AI-detection tool reportedly assessed the media as likely AI-generated, and the product was reportedly not listed as holding marketing authorization in Kosovo.

Risk classification

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

The incident involved using AI-generated deepfakes of a doctor and journalist to run a fraudulent medical marketing campaign on Facebook to sell unauthorized hypertension medicine.

Additional risk subdomains

• 3.1 False or misleading information: The deepfake video generated and spread false medical claims regarding a cure for hypertension, potentially misleading patients.

Causal factors

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

The incident was caused by human malicious actors intentionally deploying AI-generated deepfake videos post-deployment to commit medical fraud.

EU AI Act risk tier

• Risk tier: 3 Limited Risk

Limited Risk: The report describes the use of AI-generated content such as deepfakes, which falls under Limited Risk due to transparency obligations to inform users they are interacting with synthetic media.

AI system and alleged parties

• AI system: HIVE Moderation, unspecified AI generator (HIVE)
• 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
• Alleged harmed parties: Spiro Qirko, People seeking medical advice, Ilir Topi, General public of Kosovo, General public, Epistemic integrity

Harm severity

Highest direct severity in any category: Substantial. 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 Negligible
• Privacy: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Psychological: direct Minor, indirect Negligible
• Epistemic: direct Minor, indirect Negligible
• Child sexual exploitation and abuse: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible

Malicious content

Reported: The report explicitly describes the creation and spread of a malicious deepfake video used for fraud.

Directly caused: An AI-generated deepfake video and voice clone of cardiologist Spiro Qirko and journalist Ilir Topi was created and distributed on Facebook to promote an unauthorized drug.

Indirectly caused: N/A

Inferred additional harm: The malicious video was likely viewed by thousands of Facebook users in Kosovo before being identified as a deepfake.

Psychological

Reported: The report explicitly describes psychological distress and reputational offense experienced by one of the victims.

Directly caused: Cardiologist Spiro Qirko expressed feeling deeply insulted and described the unauthorized use of his name and personality as a very ugly and unprecedented manipulation.

Indirectly caused: N/A

Inferred additional harm: N/A

Epistemic

Reported: The report explicitly describes epistemic harm through the fabrication of a medical interview and false health claims.

Directly caused: The deepfake video fabricated an interview between Ilir Topi and Spiro Qirko, falsely claiming that 'Hyper Caps' completely cures hypertension and that pharmaceutical companies are suppressing it.

Indirectly caused: N/A

Inferred additional harm: The spread of such false medical claims on social media erodes public trust in legitimate medical professionals and established healthcare systems.

People affected

• Occurrences reported: 1
• People reportedly harmed: 2
• People reportedly exposed: 2

Potential causes

Management

• Lack of Ad Verification: Facebook page published unverified medical claims and fake interviews.

Technology

• AI Deepfake Generation: AI was used to generate realistic synthetic video and voice of a doctor.
• Synthetic Voice Cloning: AI audio generation cloned the voices of the doctor and journalist.

Data Inputs

• Unauthorized Likeness Data: Personal video and voice data were used without consent to train AI.

Human Factors

• Malicious Actor Deception: Scammers created fake content to deceive patients for financial gain.

Process and Methods

• Weak Platform Moderation: Facebook failed to proactively detect and block the AI medical scam.

Regulatory Environment

• Illegal Drug Marketing: Hyper Caps was sold in Kosovo without AKPPM marketing authorization.
• Lack of Deepfake Regulation: Absence of strict legal enforcement against identity theft using AI.

Information quality

• Classification confidence: High
• Reason for confidence: The report clearly details the nature of the scam, the specific individuals impersonated, the platform used (Facebook), and the verification of the deepfake using HIVE Moderation. The denials from the victims and the regulatory status of the drug are explicitly documented.
• Ambiguities identified: The specific AI tool used to generate the deepfake is not identified, only the detection tool (HIVE Moderation) is named.
• Alternative interpretations: None. The incident is a clear-cut case of commercial deepfake fraud.

The incident involved the use of AI-generated deepfakes of a cardiologist and a journalist to market an unauthorized hypertension drug in Kosovo. While it represents a concerning evolution of consumer fraud and epistemic harm regarding public health, it poses negligible threat to national security, critical infrastructure, or state sovereignty, and is manageable under standard regulatory and law enforcement frameworks.

• Overall national security impact: Minor
• Response level: Moderate
• Scope: Single nation
• Primary target: Kosovo
• Alleged perpetrator: Unknown

Threat characteristics

• Imminence: Long-term. The incident represents a localized fraud campaign that has already been identified, posing an ongoing strategic concern rather than an immediate national security crisis.
• Autonomy: Human-controlled. The AI system was used strictly as a generation tool by human actors to produce synthetic media based on direct inputs.
• Novelty: Established threat. Using synthetic media and deepfakes to perpetrate commercial and medical fraud is an established method globally.

Impact by dimension

• Physical security: Negligible. No physical threat, kinetic capability, or critical infrastructure manipulation was involved in this commercial medical scam.
• Information security: Negligible. The deepfake was utilized for localized commercial fraud rather than state-sponsored information warfare, intelligence compromise, or systematic geopolitical disinformation.
• Sovereignty: Negligible. No threat to state authority, electoral processes, or core government operations. The sale of unauthorized medicine is a standard regulatory enforcement issue.
• Economic security: Negligible. The economic impact is limited to localized consumer fraud and does not threaten strategic industries, financial systems, or national technological advantages.
• Societal stability: Minor. Presents a minor threat to public health and trust by spreading false medical claims and unauthorized pharmaceuticals, but is manageable within standard law enforcement and regulatory frameworks.