Kelly Clarkson weight loss endorsement is AI, not reality | Fact check

Gabrielle Settles, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The claim: Video shows Kelly Clarkson promoting weight loss keto gummies

A Nov. 3 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) appears to show singer Kelly Clarkson talking about losing a serious amount of weight in a short period of time. The video includes an on-screen graphic advertising "keto" diet gummies.

"Kelly Clarksoп: I have also tried various methods until I found this," reads the post's caption.

The post includes a link that brings users to a website where they can order the diet gummies.

The video was shared more than 20 times in four days and viewed more than 48,000 times.

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Our rating: Altered

The video is altered. The original video shows Clarkson promoting her latest album. She has not promoted weight loss gummies.

Original clip shows Clarkson promoting album, not diet gummies

The clip of Clarkson featured in the Facebook post was pulled from a June 23 video she shared on her verified Instagram account. In the original post, she talks about her album "Chemistry" and does not mention weight loss gummies or losing weight.

Melissa Kates, a spokesperson for Clarkson, told USA TODAY the singer has not promoted diet pills or gummies.

“Ms. Clarkson does not have any affiliation as a spokesperson for Keto Drops or ANY other weight loss products/programs,” Kates wrote in an email.

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The altered version of the video added the audio about weight loss and appears to edit Clarkson's mouth. Those are key clues of a deepfake, said Siwei Lyu, a University at Buffalo computer science and engineering professor and co-director of the university’s Center for Information Integrity.

A deepfake is a type of video manipulation that uses artificial intelligence to make it look like someone said or did something that they did not. Lyu and his team analyzed the deepfake of Clarkson and found several red flags.

“The lips are usually partially closed for bilabial sounds," said Lyu. "In phonetics, ‘bilabial’ refers to the use of both upper and lower lips to articulate a consonant, such as ‘b, p, m, n."

Lyu's team took screenshots showing that Clarkson's mouth appeared open, not closed, when those sounds were made.

USA TODAY has previously debunked posts about celebrities endorsing diet products, including one that claimed the Shark Tank judges endorsed a keto diet pill and another that claimed Oprah endorsed diet pills.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

  • Melissa Kates, Nov. 6, Email interview with USA TODAY

  • Siwei Lyu, Nov. 6, Email interview with USA TODAY

  • Kelly Clarkson, June 23, Instagram post

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Altered Kelly Clarkson video promotes keto diet gummies | Fact check