Fake videos of late-night television hosts, made using generative AI, are multiplying on social media platforms, with Jimmy Kimmel among the most frequently impersonated, according to a report by NPR. The videos appear to show Kimmel commenting on current events, including President Trump falling asleep during a meeting and Trump's attacks on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, even though Kimmel is currently on summer break from his ABC show.
Jed Rosenzweig, founder and editor of LateNighter.com, has been investigating the spread of these videos. He told NPR that late-night hosts are particularly easy targets because their format is so familiar and predictable to audiences. "Jimmy Kimmel really does go on television and talk about politics all the time, and these clips really do get posted on social media every day," Rosenzweig said. "So if you see a Kimmel thumbnail tied to something Trump did yesterday, there's a built-in context and trust there that gives [it] a kind of camouflage. It just has to look like one more Jimmy Kimmel clip in a feed that's already filled with Jimmy Kimmel clips."
Some of the fake videos have attracted hundreds of thousands of views. Comments on at least one YouTube video suggest that some viewers accepted the content as real. Rosenzweig said there are signs that can help viewers identify the fakes. "The gestures are odd. The writing doesn't really sound like a live monologue. And after about 10 seconds, Kimmel disappears and the cloned voice just runs over news footage," he said.
Other hosts, including Jon Stewart, have also been targeted. But Rosenzweig said the Kimmel deepfakes raise particular concerns because of Kimmel's contentious relationship with the Trump administration. President Trump has repeatedly called for Kimmel to be fired. Many of the fake videos mock or criticize Trump, which Rosenzweig said could affect an ongoing legal dispute between ABC and the Federal Communications Commission over free speech. "ABC are being scrutinized on a nightly basis for what Jimmy Kimmel is saying," Rosenzweig said. ABC did not respond to NPR's request for comment.
Rosenzweig noted that AI-generated talk show host videos can pose a broader threat than other celebrity deepfakes, such as those featuring musicians or actors, in part because the format, a host speaking directly to camera about the news, is so easily replicated and so naturally trusted by viewers who regularly consume that type of content.
