https://youtu.be/rYYcCBTMbgs
Using deepfake A.I. technology, a TikTok user transformed into Tom Cruise for a series of videos that âgenuinely scaredâ fans.
Sorry, but Tom Cruise didnât join TikTok. However, a very realistic doppelgänger did â well, sort of. Thanks to the technology of Deepfake, a type of artificial intelligence that can replace someoneâs face with another personâs, many fans believed that the Mission Impossible star was actually posting TikToks of himself under the name of â@deeptomcruiseâ (the name shouldâve been a major hint).
The first deepfake video of Mr. Cruise was uploaded on Feb. 22, which showed a faux Tom demonstrating his golf swing. âWhatâs up, TikTok? You guys cool if I play some sports?â the impersonator said into the camera, nailing Tomâs voice. The âdeepfakeâ Tom even did a spot-on impersonation of the Risky Business starâs laugh at the end of the video, which has racked up nearly nine million views and one million likes.
The acting even got arguably better in the second video, which showed the deepfake version of the Top Gun actor sharing an anecdote about his time in Russia (that video received 1.7 million views). And the most recent TikTok, which was uploaded on Feb. 26, was of Tomâs very realistic A.I.-impersonator showing off a magic trick with a coin. âIâm going to show you some magic. Itâs the real thing. I mean, uh, itâs allâ¦the realâ¦thing,â the impersonator said, seemingly poking fun at the fact that he is not actually the ârealâ Tom.
The videos were so realistic, they actually frightened viewers! âDeep fakes are getting scary good and taking over TikTok. Every public figure should just be on there with a verified account â even if they donât want to make content â to make it easier to identify their fakes,â one person tweeted over one of @deeptomcruiseâs videos, while another person wrote, âI am genuinely scared by this Tom Cruise deepfake. Itâs brilliant but itâs terrifying.â Someone even pointed out that TikTok actually banned deepfakes in Aug. 2020.
However, others just found the videos to be more funny than concerning. âThe establishment is troubled by the fact the deepfakes would theoretically allow us to make our own Tom Cruise movies at home,â one such person tweeted.
The real Tom Cruise does have Instagram and Twitter accounts, however, where he shared a viral video of himself surprising fans while heading âto the moviesâ in London in Aug. 2020. Whether or not heâs trying to, Tom has a knack for going viral online.