By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-04-02 09:19:52 | Updated at 2025-04-03 10:07:57
1 day ago
An AI-generated deepfake of Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary has been used in a sham news report, with the government warning the public not to believe a video circulating showing the minister giving investment advice in an interview.
A government spokesman on Wednesday warned that an online video with the city’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po promoting a so-called “Government Investment Platform” was alleged to be fake and generated by artificial intelligence, with police already investigating.
“The information is totally fictitious and is intended to deceive,” he said, urging the public not to fall for the scam.
The video featured a TV interview and advertised a financial platform that claimed it could help “tens of thousands of people all over Hong Kong over 40” quit their jobs and retire.
“With a small investment of HK$1,945, you can earn more than HK$7,780 per week,” said a figure in the video who resembled the city’s Financial Secretary, in response to an interviewer’s question.
“It is like an early retirement or a salary increase that multiplies your savings many times over.”
