South Korea will require advertisers to disclose when AI has been used in ad production starting next year.
The country aims to crack down on a rise in false product promotions, including from AI-generated influencers. South Korean media has seen more fake promotions for products like cosmetics and weight loss drugs, some featuring AI-generated “experts” or celebrities endorsing the product.
South Korean officials said they will increase the screening of digital ad content and the removal of AI-generated content. The country will implement fines on misleading AI content, the officials added after a meeting chaired by South Korea Prime Minister Kim Min-seok.
The South Korean government will look into revising telecommunications and AI-related legislation, including the existing AI-labelling laws. The ramped up monitoring of digital ad content is set to begin in early 2026.
“Anyone who creates, edits, and posts AI-generated photos or videos will be required to label them as AI-made, and the users of the platform will be prohibited from removing or tampering with those labels.” said Lee Dong-hoon, director of economic and financial policy, the Office for Government Policy Coordination, in a briefing.
AI companies will also be held accountable for advertisers’ compliance with the regulations while using their platforms, Lee included.
The move marks one of first global examples of addressing AI safety as it relates to deepfakes and misinformation in ads. Recently, China also released mandates on labelling AI content. The country requires AI content service providers to include explicit markings on AI-generated content on social media.
The European Union’s (EU) AI Act plans to enforce greater transparency measures and mandatory labelling for AI deepfakes from 2026.
Telling Real From Fake
The rise of fake, AI-generated ad content has become a growing issue worldwide. With more companies using AI to produce ads, it becomes more difficult to discern which are real promotions versus AI nonsense.
Santander UK recently published research which showed that 74 percent of UK adults were unable to identify an AI-generated ad.
An increase in AI “influencers” is adding a new layer to the phenomenon. Research published in the Harvard Business Review found that human influencers’ sponsored posts drew in 2.3 percent less engagement than virtual influencers’ posts. Social media posts on platforms like Instagram tend to gain more positive engagement when posted by a virtual influencer, the researchers added.
Despite trusted brands using AI for different stages of the advertising process, AI tools are more accessible than ever to non-advertisers, who can create extremely believable content. Upgraded video generation tools like OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo 3 have contributed to the proliferation of deepfake video content on the internet, from fake news reports to fake influencer promotional videos.
