AI-generated fake Black influencers used to sell cheap products via dropshipping on TikTok

Summary

This article investigates the rise of AI-generated Black influencers on TikTok, created by dropshipping grifters to manipulate viewers through racial guilt and empathy. The author uses the example of "Aliyah," a fake Black woman crying about her handmade belt buckle business, to expose how scammers are using generative AI to create synthetic personas that exploit racial dynamics to sell cheap, mass-produced products at inflated prices. The piece explores the technical and ethical dimensions of this phenomenon, including how AI-generated faces are created, the dropshipping business model, and the manipulative use of identity politics to drive sales.