by Peter Williams

In less than twenty-five years, Facebook has become a global phenomenon. It’s extraordinary to realise that Mark Zuckerberg and a few friends at Harvard University developed the first prototype of the social media giant as recently as 2004.

Nowadays, over 3 billion of us in 112 countries have Facebook accounts, and the company, officially known as Meta, is valued at $ 1.8 trillion on the NASDAQ.

I raise the issue after receiving an email from an acquaintance asking if I’d been promoting a health supplement on Facebook called GlycoQ Blood Support.

Now I confess to having been a pitchman for a health supplement some years ago. But I’m well past my use-by date as some sort of public figure to have any commercial currency.

So I was most definitely NOT promoting GlycoQ – whatever it is. Nor was I talking with Ashley Bloomfield or Russell Crowe about it!

Unfortunately my acquaintance appears to have been caught in a moment of weakness, ordered one bottle at $73.95 but was then charged for 5, a total of $369.75. He tried to cancel the order but couldn’t. Now he has to hope the money back guarantee will refund his money when the goods arrive.

I haven’t actually seen the AI version of Peter Williams trying to sell GlycoQ but in recent times I have seen Facebook advertising featuring high profile funds manager Carmel Fisher and well known doctor Lance O’Sullivan, the man named as New Zealander of the year in 2014.

My recollection is that this Carmel Fisher was offering investment advice that was just too good to be true. Basically it was “buy these shares and you’ll double your money.” But having seen Carmel Fisher on TV for years it was obvious this was not the real her. While the AI likeness was sort-of convincing she had her head constantly on an angle which has never been a feature of her numerous TV appearances. It was a con job, best scrolled through.

The Lance O’Sullivan campaign is more disturbing because he’s purportedly telling men that they can cure prostatitis, an inflammation of the prostate gland, by taking baking soda. I doubt it does. Medical literature says it doesn’t.

But Facebook is using AI images of this well respected Maori doctor to push a dodgy product.

When I started using Facebook over fifteen years ago it was kind of fun. You could reconnect with people from your past, share photos and experiences with family and friends and it was generally a positive experience.

But from about the time the company listed on the stock exchange in 2012 the content seems to have changed dramatically. My feed, and probably yours too, is now completely dominated by targeted advertising and content that they know I’m interested in.

So I’m forever having golf and cricket items to watch and being bombarded with ads for various gadgets and gismos that will either improve my golf swing or fix my sore knee that I complain about to my wife, which Facebook’s listening algorithm obviously picks up on.

The whole experience isn’t much fun anymore even if I confess to buying the occasional piece of crap that might help with the aches and pains experienced by a 71 year old.

But at least the stuff I’ve bought is real and not promoted by an AI version of anybody. I don’t believe I’ve bought it under false pretences. Some of it even works.

Using well known faces is a different issue though, especially in matters of financial investment and ingestible health products.

Facebook lose all credibility when punting these products and are undoubtedly breaking the law by using AI versions of so-called celebrities to sell a product. If I was so inclined and had the financial capability I would sue Facebook for impersonating me, or at the very least issue a cease and desist.

I doubt they care. I doubt they would pay any attention. I’m sorry that my acquaintance has been ripped off and I hope he gets his money back when the product arrives in the mail.

Facebook now joins the ever growing list of media that you just cannot trust.

Zuckerberg’s invention of 21 years ago might be one of the most valuable companies in the world. But the longer it exists I wonder what its purpose or relevance is in today’s “post-truth world.”

What was a seemingly innocent idea in 2004 is now sinister. It is not to be trusted.

Sadly it won’t stop us scrolling through our feed but we must learn to be disciplined in our reaction to Facebook content.

So much of it is just plain fake.

Originally published on PeterAllanWilliams.