In the past few years, there's been a rising concern in the beauty community and among big social media influencers regarding the authenticity and reliability of beauty brands and products, because of the filters that they use. How can we tell how well a product is working if we can't see the true before-and-after?
But now with the rise of the use of AI in photographs and videos, this is far from limited to beauty products, and the issue really showed its true colors throughout the holiday season.
Countless TikTokers were tricked into purchasing what they thought would be the perfect, thoughtful, artisanal, and original gift for their loved ones, only to realize too late that the product was filtered to oblivion and advertised with a completely AI-generated video—so then when they received the product, it was truly nothing like what they thought they'd be wrapping and putting under the tree.
Now, TikTokers have come together, spitefully laughing over their TikTok purchase mishaps and the "AI Slop" that weaseled its way into many of their homes—and they're all dumping the products in the trash or sending them off to thrift stores.
Even in early January, thrift stores have already started filling their shelves with these terrible "finds"-turned-"fails," and no one wants to buy them.
Here is one very common example, in this case displayed by TikToker @princessfunnygirl.
Circulating all over TikTok throughout the holiday season were these incredibly attractive, whimsical, fantastical mugs that appeared to be handcrafted and ceramic, complete with unique books, whimsical wire and leaf-and-vine-like details wrapped around the body of the mug, as well as sometimes the handle.
Various sellers offered different colors, and some even offered customizations of the book titles or book colors on the body of the mug to create a truly personalized and thoughtful gift for a loved one during the holidays.
But in reality, a well-meaning TikToker would order one of these mugs, only for a cheap, non-microwavable metal thermos to show up, either wrapped in a very cheap, not dishwasher-safe vinyl or flimsy rubber that only vaguely looked like drawings of books that a mother or kindergarten teacher could love.
Now the thrift stores are filling with cheap plastic, vinyl, and slip cover mugs with poorly rendered "books" that no one wants.
You can see the video here:
Another very common problem are obvious dupes of major brands, especially expensive sports apparel brands like Formula 1, Nascar, and any hockey team.
In this example, the shirt looks convincing enough on the surface. The cut of the shirt looks appealing and accurate, as do the color choices and font stylings.
However, when you look closer, the spelling is not consistent, and there is some phrasing that you just would not see on authentic apparel, making it perfect for a "poser" only.
You can watch the video here:
Fellow TikTokers felt horrible for the people who spent their hard-earned money and goodwill on these products, only to be duped during the holidays instead.
@princessfunnygirl/TikTok
@princessfunnygirl/TikTok
@princessfunnygirl/TikTok
@princessfunnygirl/TikTok
@princessfunnygirl/TikTok
@princessfunnygirl/TikTok
@princessfunnygirl/TikTok
@princessfunnygirl/TikTok
@princessfunnygirl/TikTok
@princessfunnygirl/TikTok
It's alarming how quickly AI is getting out of control.
Truly, the economy is terrible right now, and people are doing what they can to make money, but when it's at the expense of other people and at the expense of real art being made by authentic artists, a line has to be drawn.
Not to mention how much more junk this is putting in our landfills, because no one will want to purchase it!
