'Is This Legit?' to fight AI deceit

In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms and automation, two unfolding realities - one in Pakistan, the other across global digital platforms - are drawing urgent attention to the fragile nature of trust online.

On one hand, Meta and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) have joined forces to combat a wave of online scams through a new educational initiative. On the other, YouTube users around the world are being duped by fabricated songs that mimic popular artists, raising new alarms about authenticity, copyright and the ethical boundaries of artificial intelligence.

In Islamabad, Meta, in collaboration with PTA's educational platform and the Singapore-based digital literacy organisation EYEYAH!, has launched 'Is This Legit'? - a nationwide awareness campaign designed to help internet users spot and avoid scam traps.

The campaign, which forms part of a wider Asia-Pacific effort spanning more than 15 countries, uses gamified content to educate the public on seven major scam types: romance, shopping, impersonation, investment, job, account hacking and messaging scams.

Through colourful, interactive experiences, the campaign allows users to test their ability to recognise red flags - a response to the increasing sophistication of digital fraud that has caught many unsuspecting victims off guard.

"At Meta, we are deeply committed to safeguarding our community in Pakistan by proactively removing scammers from our platforms," said Dania Mukhtar, Meta's Head of Public Policy for Pakistan. "However, scammers are constantly adapting their tactics, targeting multiple apps and platforms simultaneously, making it difficult for them to be caught."

She added that awareness and education remain the most powerful defences for online users. "Through this campaign, we aim to help people in Pakistan identify common red flags interactively and engagingly, empowering them to stay safe from scams. We appreciate the PTA for helping us amplify this initiative and empower the community with the knowledge and resources needed to protect themselves online."

PTA Chairman Maj Gen (retd) Hafeezur Rehman, welcomed the initiative, noting that it builds upon the PTA's long-standing collaboration with Meta to promote digital literacy and protect Pakistani users from online threats. "PTA remains committed to fostering a secure and informed digital environment," he said, calling 'Is This Legit?' a continuation of joint efforts to ensure a safer online experience for all.

The campaign's interactive platform encourages users to explore simulated scam scenarios, learn to verify suspicious links, and understand how seemingly harmless messages can lead to identity theft or financial loss. The message is simple: digital vigilance is no longer optional.

While Pakistan takes steps to educate users about online deception, a parallel challenge is unfolding globally —the realm of artificial intelligence and creative expression. On YouTube, an influx of AI-generated songs is deceiving millions of listeners. Videos falsely attributed to pop icons such as Adele, Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber have gone viral, despite bearing little or no resemblance to the artists' real voices.

One such clip, which presents itself as a heartfelt tribute sung by Adele to a slain American activist, drew emotional comments from viewers. "Thank you, Adele, it's such a beautiful song," one user wrote. Yet the song - along with its visuals and backstory - was entirely fabricated by AI tools that generate lyrics, voices and melodies from text prompts.

Experts warn that this growing trend threatens not only copyright protections but also the broader integrity of digital content. "What made the internet so cool - weird, creative people doing things they loved - is gone," said Alex Mahadevan of the Poynter Institute. "It's been replaced by AI slop created by grifters trying to make money. We're becoming passive consumers, not active digital citizens."

Despite YouTube's policy requiring creators to disclose AI-generated or synthetically altered content, such disclaimers often go unnoticed, buried in video descriptions. Meanwhile, platforms like Spotify are already seeing a rise in AI acts, including 'The Velvet Sundown', a virtual band that openly describes itself as "not quite human, not quite machine" and boasts more than 200,000 listeners.

The proliferation of such synthetic music has reignited debate about the rights of artists over their voices and likenesses. "Someone's likeness should be protected from replication in AI tools - even after death," Mahadevan argued. Lucas Hansen of the non-profit CivAI echoed this view, suggesting that while an outright ban is improbable, new legal frameworks restricting commercial misuse are inevitable.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has already filed lawsuits against AI music generators, including Suno, alleging copyright infringement. These tools can produce entire tracks from brief text inputs - a capability that, while technologically impressive, has rattled the creative industry. In one demonstration, AFP reported that a simple prompt requesting a song about a fallen celebrity yielded two fully produced pieces titled 'Star Gone Too Soon' and 'Echoes of a Flame'.

Last year, more than 200 artists, including Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj, signed an open letter warning that training AI systems on existing music would "degrade the value of our work". The letter described the rise of synthetic songs as an "assault on human creativity" and called for urgent safeguards to "protect against the predatory use of AI to steal artists' voices and destroy the music ecosystem."

From scam awareness games to AI-powered deceptions, these developments reveal two sides of the same coin - a digital landscape where human intuition and critical thinking are under siege. Whether the threat emerges in the form of fraudulent messages or fake melodies, the challenge remains constant: distinguishing the real from the artificial.

In Pakistan, initiatives like 'Is This Legit?' are a timely attempt to strengthen the public's ability to question, verify and think critically online. Globally, meanwhile, the conversation is shifting towards preserving authenticity and protecting creative integrity in an era of synthetic content.

As the boundaries between truth and imitation blur, one thing is clear: digital literacy is no longer a luxury but a necessity - the first line of defence in a world where even the music that moves us might not be real.

(WITH INPUTS FROM APP & AFP)