Reported AI Impersonations of Pastors Used in Online Donation and Influence Scams
Description
Religious communities in the U.S. and abroad reported the circulation of purportedly AI-generated videos and cloned audio impersonating pastors and church leaders, including Father Mike Schmitz, to solicit donations and spread incendiary sermons. The impersonations reportedly leveraged synthetic voice and likeness tools and were distributed via platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and messaging apps. Some content remained unlabeled as AI-generated and was treated as authentic by viewers.
Actors
Alleged Deployers
- unknown-scammers-impersonating-religious-figures
- scammers
Alleged Developers
- deepfake-technology-developers
- synthetic-audio-generation-technology-developers
Harmed Parties
- mike-schmitz
- religious-leaders
- religious-institutions
- religious-communities
- churches
- congregants
- general-public
- epistemic-integrity
Classification
Risk Domain
Malicious Actors & MisuseRisk Subdomain
4.3. Fraud, scams, and targeted manipulation
MIT Risk Profile
Source
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