Hacking exposes the reality of startup 'Doublespeed,' which secretly creates AI-generated ads using over 1,000 smartphones and distributes them to TikTok
Doublespeed, a startup backed by major venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, has been hacked and exposed for operating a shady ad serving business.
Hack Reveals the a16z-Backed Phone Farm Flooding TikTok With AI Influencers
Doublespeed is a startup that raised $1 million (approximately 156 million yen) in a funding program led by Andreessen Horowitz, and is developing a service that uses generative AI to promote clients' products.
However, in reality, it appears that they created a large number of fake accounts, 'raised' them to a certain extent so that they would not appear to be bots, and then used them to promote specific products.
The hackers, who shared information with 404 Media on the condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation, said they were able to gain access to Doublespeed's back-end systems and company-owned smartphones, giving them access to more than 400 TikTok accounts linked to Doublespeed.
Approximately 200 of these accounts were actively promoting products, although most did not clearly indicate that their posts were advertisements.
Doublespeed allegedly faked human-like behavior to prevent social media companies from detecting and removing such campaigns as they violated its 'unnatural behavior policy.' The TikTok accounts operated by Doublespeed promoted language learning apps, dating apps, Bible apps, dietary supplements, massage devices, and more.
For example, an account named 'Chloe Davis' posted nearly 200 health-related images featuring an AI-generated middle-aged woman discussing various physical ailments and how to address them, and the end of each post always included a photo of the person using a massage roller from a company called 'Vibit.'
Another TikTok account, 'pattyluvslife,' claimed to be a student at the University of California, Los Angeles, and repeatedly posted about major pharmaceutical companies and the supplement industry as scams, while promoting a supplement from a company called Rosabella. However, the unnatural text in the images made it clear that the content was AI-generated.
Most of Doublespeed's TikTok accounts posted slideshows and still images, but some also posted videos of dance moves and other activities.
In response to 404 Media's request, TikTok explained that its 'Community Guidelines require explicit labeling of AI-generated content that depicts realistic landscapes or people, or that has been heavily edited.' After a request for comment, TikTok added the 'AI-generated' label to the accounts identified by 404 Media.
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