The Homefront Sentinel Weighs In on AI Fake Soldier Videos Flooding Social Media

The shirtless soldier asking for support on TikTok? Probably AI. And it's just one of thousands.

The New York Times recently reported on a surge of AI-generated videos impersonating American service members across social media. Some are part of foreign influence operations. Others are scams targeting military families. All of them exploit the genuine support Americans have for those who serve.

The Homefront Sentinel has been tracking this problem closely. According to our co-executive director Ellen Gustafson, the scale is staggering and the playbook is frustrating.

"It's Whac-a-Mole," Gustafson told the Times. "Platforms take down accounts when alerted, but new ones come right back up in another form."

Beyond the security threat—fake recruitment schemes, disinformation tied to foreign influence operations, scams on adult platforms—there's a deeper issue: these videos distort how the public sees military service. They paint a cartoonish, "gamified, bravado" picture that doesn't reflect the real, humble, and noble work of those who serve. That matters when we're asking the next generation to step up.

Read the full New York Times investigation to learn more about the networks behind these videos and why this moment matters.