Top 10 Terrifying Deepfake Examples

Deepfakes are AI-generated media that hijack reality. They're a weapon. A single algorithm can clone your face, steal your voice, and puppet your identity to manipulate millions. The rapid evolution of technology is outpacing our ability to discern truth. 

According to a 2023 report by DeepMedia, over 500,000 video and voice deepfakes were shared online that year. As 2025 progresses, we expect this number to increase significantly. 

The technology's accessibility exacerbates the issue. Creating convincing deepfakes with user-friendly apps and software no longer requires advanced technical skills. This democratization means malicious actors can exploit the technology for nefarious purposes. 

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What Are Deepfakes? (And Why Should You Be Afraid?)

It's not just the novelty of seeing someone say or do something they never did. Deepfakes have graduated from experimental curiosities to high-stakes weapons of deception. What sets the truly terrifying ones apart? 

A few defining characteristics:

• Look and Sound Too Real
• Target Real-World Institutions and Events
• Easy to Make, Hard to Detect
• Ruin Lives and Reputations
• Undermine Democratic Institutions

For this reason, deepfake detection tools are needed. In customer onboarding as well, deepfake scams have become the norm. 

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Top 10 Terrifying Deepfake Examples

1. The Fake Pentagon Explosion That Shook the Stock Market

In May 2023, panic swept across social media when an image surfaced showing an explosion near the Pentagon. The image appeared authentic, and several verified Twitter accounts shared it. It depicted a plume of black smoke rising from a government building, suggesting a possible terrorist attack or missile strike.

The image was not real. It was an AI-generated deepfake.

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What Happened

• The image went viral within minutes, getting picked up by financial news aggregators and even briefly reported by mainstream outlets.
• The result? A short-lived dip in the U.S. stock market, with the S&P 500 slipping before the news was debunked.

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2. The Deepfake of President Zelenskyy Asking Ukrainian Troops to Surrender

In March 2022, during the height of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a shocking video began circulating on social media and even made its way onto a hacked Ukrainian news website. The video featured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appearing to issue a national address in which he told Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms and surrender to Russian forces.

But there was one major issue: the video was completely fake.

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What Happened:

• The video was a deepfake, using AI-generated footage to mimic Zelenskyy's face and voice.
• The president's face lacked natural movement, and his voice and tone were slightly off, subtle cues that indicated it wasn't authentic.
• Zelenskyy responded quickly by releasing a legitimate video on his official channels. He refuted the claims and called the video a "childish provocation."

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3. The Joe Biden Deepfake Robocall That Targeted U.S. Voters

In early 2024, just before the New Hampshire presidential primary, voters received strange robocalls featuring President Joe Biden's voice. The message? "Stay home and save your vote for the November election."

It sounded exactly like Biden. The cadence, the tone, even the slight rasp in his voice—eerily convincing. But here's the catch: President Biden never recorded that message. It was a deepfake.

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What Happened

• The robocalls used AI voice cloning technology to replicate Biden's voice.
• The call urged Democratic voters not to vote in the New Hampshire primary.
• The incident quickly raised alarm bells among election officials, cybersecurity experts, and voters alike.
• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched an investigation into the use of AI-generated audio in robocalls and proposed a crackdown.

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4. The Rashmika Mandanna Deepfake That Exposed the Dark Side of Viral Culture

In late 2023, a chilling deepfake video of popular Indian actress Rashmika Mandanna surfaced online. In the viral clip, a woman who looked exactly like Rashmika appeared to be entering an elevator wearing revealing clothing—entirely fabricated content. 

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What Happened

• The deepfake seamlessly superimposed Rashmika's face onto an unrelated video of another woman.
• At first glance, many viewers believed the video to be real due to its high-quality face-swapping.
• After widespread circulation, fact-checkers and digital investigators confirmed it was a deepfake.

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5. The Barack Obama Deepfake PSA That Fooled Millions (Before They Realized It Was a Warning)

In 2018, a video of former U.S. President Obama started circulating online. In it, he called President Trump "a total and complete dipsh*t" and warned viewers not to trust everything they see on the internet. The video looked authentic. His face, expressions, and voice all seemed to check out.

But then came the twist.

The video was a deepfake—a public awareness campaign created by filmmaker Jordan Peele and BuzzFeed to demonstrate how easily it is to manipulate reality using AI.

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What Happened

• Peele used AI-powered face-swapping and voice cloning to mimic Obama's likeness and speech.
• The video was intentionally made to shock and educate viewers on the risks of deepfakes.
• It went viral, accumulating millions of views and sparking media commentary.

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6. The Fake AI-Generated Interview of Elon Musk Used in a Crypto Scam

In 2023, a video began circulating on YouTube and other platforms featuring what looked like a CNBC interview with Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO appeared to promote a cryptocurrency investment opportunity, claiming viewers could double their money by sending Bitcoin or Ethereum to a provided address.

Spoiler: It wasn't Elon Musk. It wasn't CNBC. And it was all a deepfake.

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What Happened

• Scammers created a high-quality deepfake of Elon Musk, using old interview footage spliced with AI-generated content to craft a fake investment pitch.
• The video mimicked CNBC's branding to add authenticity.
• It ran as a YouTube ad, which made it seem legitimate, even though the platform's ad approval process missed the fake.
• Some viewers fell for the scam, sending crypto to the wallet addresses, and never saw it again.

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7. CEO Fraud: The $35 Million Voice Deepfake Scam

In a headline-making incident from 2023, scammers pulled off one of the most audacious deepfake attacks, stealing $35 million by impersonating a company's CEO using an AI-generated voice.

The target? A multinational firm in Hong Kong.
The tool? A perfectly replicated deepfake voice is used during a high-stakes video call.
The result? Millions siphoned away in a matter of minutes.

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What Happened

• An employee of the firm received a video call with what appeared to be the company's chief financial officer and other senior executives.
• During the call, the CEO instructed the employee to transfer $35 million to a list of "confidential" accounts for an upcoming corporate acquisition.
• The call felt routine—faces were familiar, voices matched, and the instructions were clear.
• The money was transferred—and vanished.

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8. The Taylor Swift Deepfake Scandal That Exposed Gaps in Platform Moderation

In early 2024, AI-generated explicit images of global music icon Taylor Swift were spread across X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, and other social platforms, sparking outrage, fear, and urgent calls for tech companies to act.

The images weren't just inappropriate. They were completely fake—deepfakes generated to look disturbingly real, without Swift's consent or involvement.

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What Happened

• Dozens of AI-generated explicit images of Taylor Swift appeared on X and quickly went viral.
• The platform initially failed to contain the spread, with some posts receiving millions of views before being removed.
• Hashtags related to the content are trending on the platform, amplifying the reach.

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9. Fake News Panic: Fabricated Trump Arrest Deepfake Video Sparks Online Frenzy

In March 2023, AI-generated images depicting former U.S. President Donald Trump being forcefully arrested set the internet ablaze. The photos were fake, but the reaction was very real.

Initially posted by artist Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat, the visuals were meant as a speculative, satirical take on what Trump's arrest might look like. But they quickly escaped that context, spreading across platforms and being shared without disclaimers, leaving many people confused—or convinced.

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What Happened

• While the original thread was labeled satire, many users reposted the images without any such context.
• The images trended across Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, and fringe news blogs.
• Fact-checkers and journalists had to step in quickly to clarify: Trump had not been arrested, and the visuals were entirely fake.

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10. Celebrity Impersonation: The Tom Cruise TikTok Hoax

In 2021, millions of TikTok users were stunned by a series of videos that appeared to show actor Tom Cruise performing magic tricks, playing golf, and casually chatting with the camera. The resemblance was uncanny—his signature laugh, facial expressions, and voice were all there.

But here's the catch: it wasn't Tom Cruise. It was a deepfake.

Belgian visual effects artist Chris Ume created the videos with a Tom Cruise impersonator. They were uploaded to a TikTok account named "@deeptomcruise" and quickly went viral, racking over 11 million likes and drawing global attention.

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What Happened

• Ume mapped Cruise's face onto the impersonator's performance using advanced deepfake software and high-level editing.
• The voice was also mimicked to near perfection.
• The creators claimed it was meant to be a harmless demonstration of the power of AI, not a scam or political stunt.

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Deepfakes Are No Longer a Glitch in the Matrix—They're the New Reality.

From fake presidential arrests to million-dollar voice scams, these examples aren't isolated incidents—they're signals. Deepfakes have crossed the threshold from novelty to mainstream manipulation tools capable of distorting reality at scale.

And what's most unsettling?

You don't need state-of-the-art labs or billion-dollar budgets to pull them off.
A laptop, an impersonator, and some code can now manufacture convincing lies that travel faster than truth.

So, what can individuals and organizations do?

• Question what you see and hear—especially if it triggers a strong emotional reaction. That's often by design.
• Double down on verification. In business, never act on high-stakes instructions based on a call or video alone—always authenticate through secondary channels.
• Educate your teams and audiences. Media literacy is no longer optional. It's a necessary defense mechanism in an AI-altered world.

We're entering an era where "seeing is believing" is no longer good enough. 

In this new reality, the only way to stay ahead of deepfakes is to stay informed, skeptical, and verified.