I’ve seen deepfakes of people giving talks on YouTube, specifically Richard Feynman, Michael Hudson, and John Mearsheimer. They’re getting quite difficult to identify, mimicking these people’s voice, intonation, and body language.

It’s to the point where media productions need to be PGP signed for me to trust the source.

Whack-a-mole: US academic fights to purge his AI deepfakes

As deepfake videos of Mr John Mearsheimer multiplied across YouTube, the American academic rushed to have them taken down, embarking on a gruelling fight that laid bare the challenges of combatting AI-driven impersonation.

The international relations scholar spent months pressing the Google-owned platform to remove hundreds of deepfake, an uphill battle that stands as a cautionary tale for professionals vulnerable to disinformation and identity theft in the age of AI.

In recent months, Mr Mearsheimer’s office at the University of Chicago identified 43 YouTube channels pushing AI fabrications using his likeness, some depicted him making contentious remarks about heated geopolitical rivalries.

One fabricated clip, which also surfaced on TikTok, purported to show the academic commenting on Japan’s strained relations with China after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed support for Taiwan in November 2025.

Another lifelike AI clip, featuring a Mandarin voiceover aimed at a Chinese audience, purported to show Mr Mearsheimer claiming that American credibility and influence were weakening in Asia as Beijing surged ahead.

“This is a terribly disturbing situation, as these videos are fake, and they are designed to give viewers the sense that they are real,” Mearsheimer told AFP.

“It undermines the notion of an open and honest discourse, which we need so much and which YouTube is supposed to facilitate.”