Met Gala-themed celebrity deepfakes led to bafflement

The issue of AI-generated deepfakes is becoming increasingly prevalent across various fields, from popular music to the arts. During the Met Gala on Monday night, the prestigious event was not spared. As the evening unfolded and celebrities started to arrive at what is often considered the pinnacle of fashion events, numerous deepfake images of well-known figures began to appear online, making it challenging to differentiate the authentic from the fabricated.

The Met Gala, held on the first Monday of May, is a highlight of the calendar for the fashion and entertainment sectors, attracting top celebrities. It’s particularly exciting to see who will step onto the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to mark the opening of the Costume Institute’s new show. This year, excitement turned to confusion for many fans as deepfakes of absent celebrities like Katy Perry, Rihanna, and Selena Gomez circulated on social media platform X, blurring the lines between reality and digital fabrication.

As the evening began, the first artificial image to spread featured Katy Perry in a gown adorned with floral and moss accents, echoing the gala’s theme, “Sleeping Beauties: The Garden of Time.” This image was posted on social media platform X just as the red carpet events kicked off, quickly attracting attention with over 300,000 likes.

Katy Perry. That’s it. #MetGala pic.twitter.com/OT51H6wJ9i

— javi (@jxries) May 6, 2024

Subsequently, more AI-generated images of Perry appeared on X, depicting her in various elaborate outfits. One particularly striking image showed her in a corseted gown with a train reminiscent of a vineyard, complete with a key-shaped breastplate.

Katy Perry looks absolutely gorgeous on #MetGala 2024. pic.twitter.com/Nm6UFnCAvI

— kauán (@wanthatoo) May 6, 2024

This image alone captivated over 4 million viewers and received more than 94,000 likes. Intriguingly, Perry herself liked both posts, further blurring the lines between her real and digitally-created personas.

Deepfake detection must become the collaborative effort of our age

Rihanna, a perennial favorite for her stunning and unexpected fashion choices at the Met Gala, opted out of this year’s event. Nonetheless, fans were eager to digitally place her on the red carpet, crafting AI-generated images of what they imagined she would wear. One notable creation depicted her in a mermaid-style gown adorned with a circular arm piece that featured an embroidered scene of flora and fauna—a look considered uncharacteristically conservative for Rihanna’s bold fashion sense.

Rihanna attends The 2024 #MetGala  #MetGala2024 pic.twitter.com/bO0QqmxWkD

— (@tereluprados) May 6, 2024

Similarly, Selena Gomez was virtually dressed in an AI-crafted gown that blended hues of blue, green, and purple, evoking the image of a butterfly.

Selena Gomez has finally arrived at the #MetGala pic.twitter.com/PJK8X1zGuM

— souv (@souvenirgomez1) May 6, 2024

Despite the high level of detail in these images, which lent them a slightly surreal, uncanny valley effect, their realism was such that many viewers were unable to distinguish them from authentic photos. By the time the event concluded at 10 p.m., with all real guests having entered, any subsequent images circulating online were almost certainly artificial. The evening highlighted the evolving challenge of distinguishing between genuine and fabricated content online, underscoring the importance of media literacy in today’s digital age—a skill that will only become more critical as technology advances.

Featured image credit: Kashawn Hernandez/Unsplash