TikTok's AI Tool Unintentionally Allows You to Put Hitler's Words in a Paid Actor's Mouth

TikTok inadvertently released a link to an internal version of its new AI digital avatar tool, allowing users to create videos with unrestricted content. This error, initially identified by CNN, enabled the creation of videos featuring quotes from Hitler and messages urging harmful actions. TikTok has since removed this version of the tool, while the intended version remains accessible.

Launched earlier this week, TikTok's Symphony Digital Avatars enable businesses to produce ads featuring paid actors and utilize AI dubbing, which allows advertisers to input scripts that comply with TikTok's guidelines. Although only users with a TikTok Ads Manager account were meant to access the tool, the internal version was available to anyone with a personal account.

In response to the incident, TikTok spokesperson Laura Perez stated that the company has addressed the "technical error" that permitted a limited number of users to create content using the internal testing version for a few days. During its use, CNN successfully generated videos that included Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America,” white supremacist slogans, and messages encouraging voters to act on incorrect dates. Critically, none of these videos bore a watermark indicating they were AI-generated, a feature present in the official version of TikTok’s Symphony Digital Avatars. While CNN chose not to upload these videos to TikTok, Perez emphasized that they would have been rejected for violating community guidelines.

Despite the tool's removal, this incident raises significant concerns about potential misuse of the digital avatar creator and whether TikTok is adequately prepared to address such challenges.