Earlier this month, after news broke that actress Mia Goth had filed for divorce from Shia LaBeouf, an Instagram account with a blue verified checkmark posted an image of Goth in a T-shirt reading “MY EX IS MY BIGGEST FAN.” The post, which also used Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” drew hundreds of thousands of likes and was treated as authentic by entertainment outlets including OK! and People.
Goth’s representative, Christine Tripicchio, told The Verge that the image was AI-generated and posted by a verified fan account they had asked Instagram to remove. “Mia Goth does not have ownership of, nor does she engage in social media on any platform,” Tripicchio said, adding that the company had filed multiple complaints. She called it “incomprehensible” that Instagram would prioritize the spread of forged images over protecting a public figure’s likeness. The account had over a million followers and was labeled as fan-run, but the blue checkmark likely caused confusion; Meta began selling verification badges years ago, allowing accounts like this one to qualify.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As of Tuesday morning, the miagoth_ account appeared to be wiped from Instagram. Meta’s current approach to AI content includes labeling some generative AI material, but its rules include a carve-out that still images do not require such labels. The incident adds to longstanding concerns from entertainers about AI-generated likenesses, with The Verge noting earlier examples involving Scarlett Johansson and Taylor Swift.