The 'influencer who doesn’t exist': Social media platforms struggle to detect AI profiles

Valeriia Litvinova Cunningham was studying for her master’s degree at North Carolina State University when the conflict in Ukraine intensified. She played a pivotal role in helping her family, including her parents and sister Anya, establish a new life in North Carolina. "They basically came here with only the clothes on their back," Cunningham recounted.

Once they were together, the family found solace in fitness. They began strength training, using it as a way to cope with the ongoing turmoil and to bond as a family. "We started strength training together as a way to distract ourselves from what was going on and also do something together as a family," Cunningham said. She began sharing their gym sessions on social media, and Anya, who has Down Syndrome, emerged as a beacon of inspiration for their growing online audience.

"We just saw so much progress in Anya's confidence, and she started having a sense of belonging in the gym," Cunningham explained. "Our entire life we've been told that Anya wouldn't be able to achieve anything, that she wouldn't be able to even walk. Now she's strength training; she's in the gym with other bodybuilders, with powerlifters, and just out training them."

The sisters’ online presence evolved into workout classes for individuals with Down Syndrome, facilitated by GiGi’s Playhouse, a nonprofit organization that provides resources for people with Down Syndrome of all ages. This initiative is known as Strength Without Labels. "We've really proved, and hopefully continue proving, every day that she's not defined by her diagnosis," Cunningham stated. "Our participants can see that they belong in a gym with other people. They don't have to be separated into a separate group. They can work out alongside everybody else, and that's what's important."

However, as their online following grew, so did skepticism. "People are accusing Anya of not being real, because nowadays, apparently, now we have to fight with artificial intelligence, and that is exactly why people now struggle with distinguishing between what's real and what's not," Cunningham said.

WRAL Investigates met Anya during a workout class, but they also discovered an account named @MiaTriso21 on both TikTok and Instagram that some users believe mimicked Anya’s likeness to create content featuring other creators. "To be honest, I cannot even believe that I'm having this conversation right now, especially since...sharing our journey on social media and fighting all these stereotypes. Now I'm fighting against AI-generated content or fabricated content," Cunningham told WRAL Investigates.

Laeeq Khan, director of the social media analytics research lab at Ohio University, commented on the situation, saying, "These accounts borrow a real creator's body, voice, and audience trust, put an AI face on top and then monetize that trust." He noted that social media platforms often depend on user reports to detect such impersonations. "If somebody hasn't reported it, it doesn't get caught," he stated.

Even when reports are made, they don’t always yield results. Cunningham shared her frustration, saying, "Sometimes, I would get a response saying that something that's AI-generated is not, so the reports would claim that, 'We didn't find this content to be AI-generated,' and then I have to fight back. I can't believe that I’m spending so much of my time trying to fight a robot."

Both TikTok and Meta have policies requiring AI-generated content to be labeled and have guidelines for removing videos that violate these rules. However, WRAL Investigates found several videos still available without appropriate labels. When asked about their efforts to identify AI-generated profiles and content, Meta did not respond to repeated inquiries. TikTok stated that it employs C2PA Content Credentials technology to track the origin and editing history of digital content, and mentioned that it tests detection systems aimed at accounts posting AI-generated spam.

Since WRAL Investigates began inquiring about the @MiaTriso21 account, it has been removed from both TikTok and Instagram. However, similar accounts have already emerged. Khan advises caution: "If something looks perfect, be skeptical. And if it looks too good to be true, it probably is."