Neil DeGrasse Tyson hits back at deepfake videos of him that even tricked his friends

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Okay, so this is super annoying – apparently, there are a bunch of fake videos going around using my face and voice to push some seriously wonky science ideas. Just to be clear, I don’t believe in any of that stuff! I’ve had to speak out against these videos because they’re putting words in my mouth and it’s totally misleading.

Honestly, AI is everywhere now. At work, I’m starting to use it more and more to help with tasks. And even when I’m just relaxing and scrolling through social media, it feels like half the stuff I see is created by AI. It’s seriously becoming a part of my daily life.

The biggest problem comes from convincingly fake videos, particularly for well-known people. Deepfakes have become so realistic that it’s often difficult to distinguish them from genuine footage.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson, the astrophysicist, has found himself connected to various theories online, even the idea that the Earth is flat, due to misleading videos. In a recent StarTalk video on October 30th, he clarified, “That’s not me.”

Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s friends even got tricked by fake videos

It’s really flattering to see people using my image to create engaging content, but it’s important to remember that these videos are deepfakes. If viewers aren’t recognizing them as parodies or simply for entertainment, it undermines the trust we’ve worked hard to establish. We need to address this issue.

The astrophysicist explained that AI-generated videos are okay if they’re clearly meant as parodies, and he actually liked seeing the trend of videos that made him look like a baby. But he doesn’t approve of videos that try to pass themselves off as real footage.

Neil deGrasse Tyson explained that if you create something that looks real but is actually a parody, and viewers don’t realize it’s not genuine, you’ve gone too far.

The 67-year-old also mentioned that his friend, actor Terry Crews, once believed a fake video, which led DeGrasse Tyson to correct the misinformation.

I have no involvement with any products being advertised – not drinks, shoes, or anything else. Whatever you see claiming to be me is almost certainly a deepfake, a completely artificial creation. It’s that simple, I assure you.

Neil deGrasse Tyson also points out that he never asks people to do anything in his videos, except encourage them to ‘keep looking up.’ Therefore, if a video tells you to do something, that’s a good indication it’s not genuine.

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2025-10-31 13:50