Director General, Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) , Olalekan Fadolapo, has raised concerns over fake AI-generated naira refinery investment advert on Facebook.

In a statement issues in Lagos, he cautioned, ” this is to inform the general public to beware of a fake AI generated investment solicitation advert using the image of President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele and the Chairman of Dangote group, Aliko Dangote to advertise investments in the naira refinery investment fund on Facebook (owned by Facebook international , a subsidiary of Meta Inc.) with unrealistic promises / returns on investment.”
Fadolapo added, ” note that the naira refinery investment fund is different from the Dangote refinery IPO, which is currently ongoing in the capital market.”

He also disclosed that preliminary investigation shows that the fake investment solicitation advertisement is computer AI-generated with the intention to mislead and defraud unsuspecting Nigerians.

Fadolapo stated President Tinubu, Taiwo Oyedele and Aliko Dangote did not model for, or authorise anyone to use their image in promoting naira refinery investment fund.

To him, the advertisement was neither submitted for vetting nor vetted and approved for exposure by the Advertising Standards Panel (ASP) in line with the advertising regulatory council of Nigeria act no 23 of 2022.

He stated the purpose of the Federal government’s policy of pre-exposure vetting is to ensure all advertisements are decent, truthful, legal, socially responsible and devoid of misinformation, disinformation and unsubstantiated claims.

His words, “ARCON will take all necessary steps, including legal actions against the platform owners, advertisers, and advertisement agencies that engage in the exposure of unethical advertisements.”

In addition, he disclosed a special monitoring and enforcement task force has been mandated to track advertisement across all platforms, swiftly identifying and flag non-compliant advertisements directed at the Nigerian market.

In conclusion, Faldolapo suggested, ‘we urge the public to also support this initiative by reporting any advertisement which appears deceptive, unethical and illegal.

“As we continue to work towards building a more ethical consumer-protective advertising environment in Nigeria, we call on all stakeholders and the advertising community to recommit to the principles of responsible advertising. The era of false and misleading advertising, advertisement and marketing communication is over,” he stated.

Recall over the years, despite repeated warnings, Nigerians continue to fall victim to Ponzi schemes promising quick returns.