Ireland’s head of government has issued an urgent public warning following the circulation of a convincing AI-generated deepfake video that misuses his likeness to advertise a fraudulent financial scheme. Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed that the doctored clip, which has spread across multiple social media platforms, is an obvious example of malicious synthetic content, and is highlighting the urgent need for greater vigilance among internet users. The altered video, created to appear authentic using artificial intelligence technology, features a fake version of Martin speaking with a modified English accent. In the clip, the deepfake falsely promises that investors of any age can earn up to €40,000 (equivalent to roughly £35,000) by starting with just a €250 initial investment and a mobile phone. In an official response posted to his own social media channels, Martin addressed the fraudulent content directly. “So, this is clearly very false material pertaining to myself,” he stated. “It is illustrative of the kind of manipulation and distortion that can take place on social media, and a reminder to us all to be vigilant on social media and to take care.” Beyond warning the general public, Martin also placed responsibility on social media hosting platforms, calling for stricter proactive measures to block harmful manipulated content from being uploaded in the first place, and to implement rapid removal protocols whenever deepfakes are identified. Deepfakes — AI-manipulated video, image, or audio content crafted to mimic real people and events — have become far more accessible and simple to produce in recent years, thanks to the widespread availability of consumer-facing text-to-image and generative AI tools that lower the barrier to creating convincing synthetic media. This is not the first high-profile case of malicious deepfake use in Irish politics in recent months. During the country’s October presidential election, an AI-generated video pretending to show candidate Catherine Connolly announcing her withdrawal from the race spread widely online. Connolly, who ultimately won the election and is now President of Ireland, condemned the clip at the time as a “disgraceful attempt to mislead voters and undermine our democracy.” BBC News NI has reached out to two of the world’s largest social media platforms, Meta and X, to request comment on the recent deepfake scam targeting Martin.