TikTok accused of allowing fake AI ads spread on its platform

TikTok has been accused of aiding fake AI-generated advertisements on its platform. The platform, which relies heavily on revenue from advertisements, has been accused of enabling the increase of false, harmful, and, most of the time, AI-generated advertisements, which are increasingly slipping through weak filters.

Advertising has become the lifeblood of most social media companies in the era of digitalization. Most of these adverts target platforms that are used by billions of users and generate revenue for companies like Meta, X, TikTok, and YouTube.

According to documents submitted to Ireland’s Company Registration Office (CRO), TikTok claimed that its models relied on combining adverts, value-added services on the platform, and merchandise sales.

TikTok accused of aiding fake AI-generated ads

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, prioritized investments in artificial intelligence this year. At the beginning of the year, the Financial Times claimed that the company had plans to invest about $12 billion in AI chips across 2025.

In the same period, the popularity of AI-generated content on the platform has increased, with users deploying it in advertisements. However, over the last few weeks, there has been an influx of adverts concerning fake or misleading products on TikTok.

For example, there has been an increase in fake ads on the platform promoting the use of weight loss supplements and appetite suppression. These developments include ads for GLP-1 patches, which are marketed as weight loss aids, but do not contain actual GLP-1, which is found in drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro.

Others are adverts which claim to provide cures to cortisol belly and high-stress levels, resulting in weight gain.

In addition, many of these advertisements lead users to cloned websites, which in some cases impersonate legitimate online businesses. They feature unlawfully copied content for deceptive and malicious purposes.

In the case of these TikTok adverts, several legitimate pharmacies have been cloned to make it look like these fake products are being promoted by well-known and trusted retailers.

Calls for safeguards over the use of AI on social media platforms

In its advertising policies, TikTok outlaws behaviors that are misleading, inauthentic, and deceptive to protect integrity, authenticity, and safety for its users and the general public at large. The platform has also warned that engaging in such practices and patterns of abusing its policies would see the accounts being suspended or banned permanently on the platform.

In terms of health, the platform has also moved to combat misinformation, which could contribute to the health crisis.

“To ensure that our community has access to accurate medical information to support well-informed health choices, we remove health misinformation relating to serious medical conditions or public health issues, or health misinformation that could lead to serious harm to individuals or discourage people from seeking proper medical care,” the company states.

Despite its policies, these AI-generated adverts promoting fake products are still rampant on TikTok.

The recent investment made by the company in AI means that these ads can now be produced using a dedicated tool created and developed by the application. The company allows users to deploy its “TikTok for Business” platform to create marketing campaigns, offering other aspects such as advertising tools, business accounts features, collaborations, and marketing strategies.

To help users carry out tasks, the platform hosts a chatbot assistant that helps people create and share advertisements based on what they are trying to sell.

Speaking about the development, Michael McGrath, the EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection Code, noted that there are rules in place in the EU when it comes to the use of AI across social media.

“We do need safeguards,” Mr McGrath said. “We have recently proposed new amendments to the act, and we aim to get the balance right. We have a good regulatory framework in place, but we need to ensure that the rulebook is enforced.”

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