Oprah Winfrey, Nigella Lawson and Piers Morgan's deep fake used for an ad to promote US Influencer 

A new advertisement that features AI-generated images of Piers Morgan, Nigella Lawson and Oprah Winfrey has been criticised by the celebrities. The ad features deepfakes of Morgan, Winfrey and Lawson and endorses a US influencer's controversial self-help course. 

The advertisement promoted the 'Genie Script' - the centrepiece of a 'manifestation' course sold for $37 a time by Wesley Virgin.

He describes himself as a motivational coach who has 1.1 million followers on Instagram and reportedly has net worth of USD 40 million. 

The series of ads used to lure buyers to purchase the product, claims the Genie Script is a "missing" Hebrew Bible scripture of just 20 words that could change one's life.

One advert used footage of Nigella Lawson chatting about her recipes and work as a TV chef.

"I went on vacation and met this man at a very exclusive party. His name was Wesley and he handed me this hidden Bible page that was locked away in somebody's room," Lawson's AI-generated voice says. 

When one looks closely, the ad has real footage interspersed with a deepfake impersonation of the food writer's voice, which seems to attribute her success directly to Wesley Virgin's guidance.

A spokesperson for Lawson branded the advertisement "fraudulent" and "of great concern".

Similar ads featuring Piers Morgan and Oprah Winfrey have also been slammed. 

Reacting to the ad, Morgan told the BBC the advert was "another example of a very worrying trend of public figures being misused by deepfake AI manipulators for financial gain".

"The real victims will be members of the public who unwittingly buy these products believing the celebrity endorsements are genuine," he added.

The two adverts, which appeared on YouTube, have now been taken down.

A spokesperson for YouTube said it had "long prohibited the use of manipulated media, including deepfakes and other forms of doctored content to deceive or mislead users".