Kalshi Used AI to Deepfake a YouTuber's Video into an Ad — and Changed His Race in the Process

Prediction market platform Kalshi has admitted that an AI-generated advertisement circulating on YouTube was created by repurposing a video from tech creator Elliott Choy without his consent — and that the process involved digitally altering Choy, an Asian-American, to appear white. Choy discovered the ad himself, describing the transformation as being turned into "a white dude" who doesn't exist. NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn confirmed the ad's authenticity; a Kalshi representative characterized it as "old" and said the company "no longer uses AI-generated ads," while adding that it is "reviewing our relationship" with the agency responsible.

The incident raises serious questions beyond the immediate case: Kalshi has not disclosed how many other creators may have had their content misappropriated, nor whether it plans to compensate any victims. The company has a documented history of AI-generated marketing shortcuts, including a widely mocked $2,000 AI-produced ad that aired during the NBA Finals. Experts who have tracked the deepfake-ad trend note that today's AI tools make such content trivially easy to produce and difficult to catch through standard content moderation.