Public warned of deepfake videos impersonating President Myriam Spiteri Debono

The Office of the President (OPR) has urged the public to be vigilant of scams which are using deepfake videos and fake photos of the President.

In a statement on Wednesday, the OPR said it is aware of several pages and profiles impersonating President Myriam Spiteri Debono on Facebook, X and Instagram.

"The Office of the President disassociates itself from any such content aimed at attracting people to financial investments, mainly crypto, that are fake and may lead to people falling victim to scams," it said. 

Deepfakes, a portmanteau of 'deep learning' and 'fake', are images, videos, or audio which are edited or generated using artificial intelligence tools, and which may depict real or non-existent people.

The OPR said that it is immediately reporting such fraudulent pages to the relevant authorities.

“The Office of the President thanks all those who alert it to any such scams and urges everyone to remain vigilant so as not to fall victim.”

The OPR highlighted three official pages belonging to the President on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Scam websites and social media profiles seem to be growing in numbers, as public figures and even news portals like MaltaToday are being impersonated to promote scams.