Non-existent Women and Hitler in the Stands: AI's Disturbing Grip on the World Cup

Since the opening days of the World Cup, hosted across the American continents, the internet has been flooded with images of non-existent, attractive women, many of which appear remarkably authentic. As reported by journalists from Marca, some of these images are even linked to Instagram profiles or contain references to adult content platforms.

One of the most prominent examples from the ongoing tournament is AI-generated influencer Chiara Cleo, who has been depicted in the stands cheering for her national team. Thousands of social media users admired the virtual fan's beauty, sharing a video that quickly amassed 40 million views.

Vozinha, who made miraculous saves in goal for Cape Verde during their unexpected 0-0 draw with Spain, also became a target of artificial intelligence. The goalkeeper was the subject of various fake stories that circulated on social media. These narratives portrayed him as an electrician or claimed he was recruited for the tournament via LinkedIn.

While the Cape Verdean Football Federation did indeed find one of its players through LinkedIn, this story pertains to Roberto "Pico" Lopes. According to spotlight.ebu.ch, Lopes is an Irishman with Cape Verdean roots whom the federation identified as eligible to represent their country.

During the match between the USA and Australia, an audio recording attributed to DSports commentator Leandro Zapponi began to circulate. He allegedly made a racist comment about singer Ciara's presence at the stadium, saying: "And who is that Black woman?"

This alleged comment went viral, forcing Zapponi to publicly refute the information: "In an era of fake news, these people only seek to harm and incite hatred. AI-edited audio recordings are not funny. It's sad that I have to clarify that I never said anything like that, nor would I ever say it," explained the Argentine commentator.

Voice cloning tools are becoming increasingly accessible and sophisticated. This is further confirmed by another fictional incident involving journalist Nicolás Haas. "Zero for France so far, zero for Senegal. Both African countries are drawing," states the fake recording, while the journalist actually ended the sentence with: "We'll take a short break and be right back."

Another wave of viral content during the championship was triggered by Germany's match. A photograph of a spectator in the stands, bearing a striking resemblance to Adolf Hitler, quickly garnered millions of views and sparked significant controversy. However, verification of the original television broadcast revealed that the man never appeared in official footage, and the images were digitally manipulated.

However, not everything is limited to harmless videos. Security agencies have warned that this World Cup could become a target for hostile groups with ties to multiple states. These groups may exploit public interest in the tournament to spread disinformation that serves their own interests, using AI-generated content and deepfake videos in public discourse.

Intelligence experts have identified groups linked to Russia, China, and Iran as the most active in viewing an event of this scale as an opportunity to spread dangerous disinformation, according to futbolchronicle.com, citing Yahoo Sports.