Fake Nvidia GTC stream hosting deepfake Jensen Huang crypto scam garners 100,000 YouTube viewers, AI-generated hoax generates 5x more views than real event

Jensen Huang deepfake — (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Unsuspecting YouTube viewers looking for Nvidia's GTC keynote on Tuesday might well have found themselves accidentally watching an AI-generated Jensen Huang deepfake promoting a cryptocurrency scam, after YouTube promoted the video over the official stream.

As spotted by eagle-eyed Dylan Martin on X, the stream (now disabled) was actually hosted by a channel called Offxbeatz.

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Around 20 minutes after the real keynote went live, there were some 90,000 people watching the fake live stream, with Martin noting that it was even the top result on YouTube if you searched for Nvidia GTC DC, a perfectly plausible query for anyone trying to watch the video. At one point, there were some 95,000 people watching the fake crypto scam stream and only 12,000 people watching the real stream as Jensen Huang took to the stage to share the latest from Nvidia. (Expand the below tweet to see the thread.)

A marvel of the modern AI world we live in, Martin was even able to generate an Otter AI transcription of the scam. Fake Jensen welcomed everyone to the event before stating, "But before we get into the keynote, I've got a surprise that's too exciting to wait. We're postponing the main talk for just a moment to announce something truly special, a crypto mass adoption event that ties directly into Nvidia's mission to accelerate human progress."

Fake Jensen went on to emphasize that the move was not just a random stunt, hailing Nvidia GPUs for powering Ethereum smart contracts, high-speed Solana transactions, and efficient cross-border payments with XRP. This is, of course, all nonsense. The scam, replete with a QR code for duped viewers to engage with, offered a crypto distribution scheme, calling on viewers to send in supported cryptocurrencies.

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Stephen is Tom's Hardware's News Editor with almost a decade of industry experience covering technology, having worked at TechRadar, iMore, and even Apple over the years. He has covered the world of consumer tech from nearly every angle, including supply chain rumors, patents, and litigation, and more. When he's not at work, he loves reading about history and playing video games.

2 Comments Comment from the forums

alrighty_then

Sort of amusing. Crypto bros are just so scummy. The get-rich-quick vibe mixed with desperation and excitement of a pyramid scheme. It seems no matter the era there is always something like this and it attracts a certain kind of person. Whomever created that deep fake is more enterprising than most!
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wwenze1

Yup, we finally reached the point where nature finds a way to balance itself. Greed and capitalism drives innovation faster than pure desire for technology, until technology stagnates, like Crypto and Windows operating systems.
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