# Kalshi's AI ad swapped a YouTuber's race without asking

> A gambling platform admitted to using deepfake tech to turn an Asian-American creator into a white person for an ad he never consented to.
- Title: Kalshi's AI ad swapped a YouTuber's race without asking
- Summary: A gambling platform admitted to using deepfake tech to turn an Asian-American creator into a white person for an ad he never consented to. Companies are…
- Keywords: kalshi, elliott choy, deepfake, ai-generated ads, race-swapping, content theft, youtube, generative ai, consent violation, algorithmic discrimination, influencer exploitation, science
- Source: Futurism — https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/kalshi-admits-random-guy-video-ai-race-swap-ad
- Author: Victor Tangermann
- Published: 2026-09-24T19:49:49+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: kalshi, elliott choy, deepfake, ai-generated ads, race-swapping, content theft, youtube, generative ai, consent violation, algorithmic discrimination, influencer exploitation, science
## YouTuber discovers his face in Kalshi ad
Tech creator Elliott Choy found his video turned into a gambling platform ad on YouTube, but with a major change: AI had altered his appearance from Asian-American to white.
## The original video was about moving apartments
Choy's September video showed him relocating to New York City. Kalshi ripped it off, deepfaked his appearance, and used it to advertise their trading platform.
## Kalshi claims the ad is old news
A company representative told NPR the ad is outdated and they no longer use AI-generated ads. They said they're reviewing their relationship with the agency that created it.

> old and that they no longer use AI-generated ads
## This isn't Kalshi's first AI ad disaster
Last year, Kalshi aired a cheap AI-generated ad for the NBA Finals that cost just $2,000. The company has been experimenting with generative AI for marketing for years.
## Company now claims to embrace human talent
Kalshi's head of growth recently told Ad Age the company is moving away from AI toward hiring real actors and cinematographers, including Timothée Chalamet.

> I transitioned us, going from being a leader in AI to as human… as possible going forward.
## Deepfake ads are slipping through moderation
A UC digital forensics expert says AI tools make it easy to create convincing deepfakes that escape content moderation. TikTok saw millions of views on similar videos last year.

> It's the kind of thing that would be super-easy to do with today's AI tools and something that would easily slip through the content moderation cracks.
## Key takeaway

Companies are using AI to steal and alter people's likenesses for ads, raising urgent questions about consent, intellectual property, and algorithmic discrimination.