This Morning’s Ashley James has said she is “absolutely devastated” after she was targeted by online scammers who used AI deepfakes to claim she had taken weight loss pills

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Ashley is a political correspondent on ITV’s This Morning (Image: ITV)

This Morning star Ashley James has said she was “absolutely devastated” when AI scammers made deepfakes of her saying she took weight loss pills. The star added that she was “incredibly angry” and that the video felt like a “total violation”.

The TV host took to Instagram to share how the video made her feel and set the record straight on her stance on weight loss medication. After sharing the deepfake, in which her AI counterpart said she lost “27 pounds in just one month” thanks to weight loss pills, Ashley made it clear that this was not her.

“So many of you have sent me this advert so I just want to be really clear – that is not me. It is completely AI generated,” she said. “Not only did I never say this, I’ve never taken these pills, I’ve never heard of these pills, and most importantly nor would I ever promote them. I’m honestly devastated that anybody might buy these products believing that I recommended them.”

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Ashley was targeted by AI scammers(Image: INSTAGRAM)

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She said she was “devastated” that this happened(Image: INSTAGRAM)

She added that she always turns down opportunities to do with weight loss and diets. Ashley continued: “So not only does this feel like a total violation, but the message behind it makes me incredibly angry.

“We already live in a world where women are constantly told to shrink themselves, be smaller, be thinner, take up less space. And that’s only getting worse with the rise of weight loss injections.”

In the caption of the post, she said that fans should know that she would never promote weight loss medication. “Someone has taken my face and my voice and turned it into an advert telling women they should lose weight. If you know anything about me, you’ll know that is the exact kind of messaging I’ve spent years fighting against.

“I do not support these products,” she stated. “And I would never tell you, or anyone else, that you need to shrink yourself or diet. And if you see this advert please report it.

“Because how social media platforms are allowing this is disgraceful! It’s scary when you think about it. And remember: just because something looks real online doesn’t mean it is. And crucially: My body is not a problem that needs fixing. And neither is yours.”

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The scam claimed Ashley had taken weight loss pills(Image: INSTAGRAM)

Fans flooded the comments with words of support, with many saying how terrifying it was that the AI video was so realistic. One said: “That’s WILD! Imagine really upsetting when it’s YOU being used. And scary that it’s even possible to do that. We all need to become more aware so we can question things. I’m hoping that it will go a bit wild west like this and then we will clock it and stop it!”

Another said: “Well done making this point! This is unreal!! Honestly, do people not understand how dangerous this is? As someone with a 20 year long ED, I am outraged at this…. Girls are pressured enough, we don’t need fake Ai pressure.”

“WTAF??? This is so frightening. Hope you’re ok babe x,” said a third. A fourth continued: “I think if anyone watched your videos they would know that wasn’t you!! Loads of stuff I’ve seen have been AI generated and it’s so scary!!!”

Ashley is not the only celebrity whose image has been manipulated in to sell a false weight loss product. Last year, Sara Davies begged her social media followers not to fall for a scam that said she had invested in weight loss pills.

She wrote on Instagram: “Yes this is a SCAM. They are all scams….. there are dozens of them going round and every day I’m hearing anecdotally from different friends, ‘So and so has asked me to get you to check with Sara if those slimming pills she’s invested in are any good’.

“Honestly I’m devastated – the thought that people are getting scammed out of so much money or worse they could actually send for something and be ingesting some random pills when they don’t know what’s in them.

“People are doing it because they think I said it was good – it boils my blood!” Sara previously that she’d gone from a size 16 to a 12 after significant weight loss. Although she’s since become a public advocate for healthy living and nutritious recipes, she insisted there is no ‘magic pill’ to do it all for you.”