TikTok didn't create the ad. This would be obvious to you if you read even a tiny bit of the article.

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, confirmed that the ad wasn't genuine in a social-media post.

"Lots of people are getting this deepfake scam ad of me… are social media platforms ready to handle the rise of AI deepfakes? This is a serious problem," he wrote.

When asked for comment, a TikTok spokesperson said the company removed the ad within a few hours of its posting and took down the account associated with it for policy violations.

On its ads policy page, TikTok said it prohibits "synthetic media that contains the likeness (visual or audio) of a real person." The company also blocks ads that include trademark infringements and other misuse of intellectual property. "Advertisers are responsible for ensuring that any synthetic media which contains a public figure has consent from the public figure to be used in an ad in this way," the company wrote.

Nor is that even the point, because the cost of generating deep fake AI videos is going down, meaning anybody can do this.