Junk Food in the Age of AI - Avi Loeb – Medium

In November 2025, Avi Loeb discovered AI-generated video channels on YouTube that depicted him saying things he did not endorse. These videos quickly gained popularity, amassing millions of views within days.

What happened

The deepfakes presented Loeb in his office, spreading misinformation in his voice and image. Loeb contrasted this with earlier misinformation spread by a YouTube influencer, which he considered insignificant. An 83-year-old ecologist, Abby Rockefeller, was impressed by one of the AI-generated videos and shared it, only to learn it was fake. Loeb raises concerns about AI's potential to destabilize truth-seeking by generating appealing but misleading content, comparing it to "intellectual junk food."