Actress Mia Goth says it’s ‘incomprehensible’ that Instagram allowed an AI image of her to spread

Earlier this month, news broke that actress Mia Goth had filed for divorce from actor and filmmaker Shia LaBeouf. An Instagram post from the account miagoth_ — marked with a blue verified checkmark — quickly spread.

The post shows Goth in a T-shirt that reads “MY EX IS MY BIGGEST FAN” in bold black letters. The Beyoncé song “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” had been added to the Instagram post. Hundreds of thousands of people — including some in the entertainment industry — liked the image, and entertainment outlets like OK! and even People wrote about it as if it were authentic. Soon, screenshots of the post were shared widely on other social media platforms.

But the image, Goth’s representatives say, was AI-generated, posted by an account they had asked Instagram to remove.

“Mia Goth does not have ownership of, nor does she engage in social media on any platform. We have filed multiple complaints with Instagram to remove the verified fan account which continues to post counterfeit, AI images of Mia Goth,” Christine Tripicchio, a representative for Goth, told The Verge in an email. “The fact that this fan account meets Instagram’s criteria to qualify for a ‘blue check’ is disconcerting on a fundamental level. Beyond that, it is incomprehensible that Instagram evidently prioritizes the dissemination of forged and manipulated images over the protection and integrity of a public figure’s likeness.”

The miagoth_ account was labeled as fan-run, but the blue checkmark — which for years signaled an official, authentic entity — likely caused confusion for many in and out of the industry (the page had over a million followers). Meta began selling blue checkmarks several years ago as part of a new program, allowing accounts like the fan page to secure “verified” badges even if they weren’t run by the person being depicted in content.

Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. As of Tuesday morning, the miagoth_ account appears to be wiped from Instagram.

Rather than ban AI-generated content of real people, Meta has taken the approach of labeling some content created with generative AI. Photorealistic AI videos of people, for example, may require an AI label — but Meta’s own rules include a carve-out that the label is not required for still images. AI-generated content featuring real people, including public figures, regularly racks up millions of views on Instagram, and Meta executives have signaled that AI-generated content will be a key part of how users engage on the company’s platforms going forward.

Entertainers including musicians and actors have for years raised concerns about their likenesses being used to generate AI content. In 2024, Scarlett Johansson said that OpenAI had used a soundalike for the voice of ChatGPT even after she declined to work with the company on the project. That same year, Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president, saying AI-generated images of her posted by Donald Trump made her realize she needed to “combat misinformation” around who she would be voting for.

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