Jimmy Kimmel is currently out on summer break from his late-night talk show on ABC. But the casual fan might be forgiven for thinking the host hasn't left the building. Social media videos appear to show him commenting on everything from President Trump falling asleep in the middle of a meeting, to the president's attacks on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Fake videos showing Kimmel and other late-night TV talk show hosts are mushrooming on social media. These videos, made using generative AI, are in some ways easier to create than deepfakes of other types of celebrity — and could potentially be more disruptive. Jed Rosenzweig, the founder and editor of the online publication LateNighter.com, has been investigating the rise of these deepfakes.
He said late-night TV talk show hosts are especially vulnerable to having their likenesses transformed into video simulations on social media because of the ease with which audiences accept the context in which they are presented. "Jimmy Kimmel really does go on television and talk about politics all the time, and these clips really do get posted on social media every day," Rosenzweig said. "So if you see a Kimmel thumbnail tied to something Trump did yesterday, there's a built-in context and trust there that gives [it] a kind of camouflage.
It just has to look like one more Jimmy Kimmel clip in a feed that's already filled with Jimmy Kimmel clips." Rosenzweig said there are telltale signs that these monologues are not authentic. The writing doesn't really sound like a live monologue. And after about 10 seconds, Kimmel disappears and the cloned voice just runs over news footage," he said.
Yet some of these videos rack up hundreds of thousands of views and elicit comments that suggest at least some people think the content is real. One viewer commented on a YouTube video: "Thank you Jimmy for speaking the truth." Rosenzweig said while other hosts like Jon Stewart are also victims of these AI simulations, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! deepfakes are of particular concern because of the host's especially contentious relationship with the Trump administration. President Trump has repeatedly called for Kimmel to be fired.
Rosenzweig said the fake videos, many of which make fun of or criticize Trump, could strengthen his administration's resolve at a time when the Federal Communications Commission and ABC are in a legal battle over free speech rights. "ABC are being scrutinized on a nightly basis for what Jimmy Kimmel is saying," Rosenzweig said. ABC did not respond to NPR's request for comment.
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