One signal

AI-generated boy avatars are appearing in tearful videos that allegedly manipulate older viewers into handing over money, the South China Morning Post reports. The videos, known as “Xiaohai”, portray teenage boys telling stories of poverty and hardship.

The report says creators can use public AI prompts to make them, with commissions reaching 55 per cent and some creators reportedly earning 2,000 to 3,000 yuan a day. Those figures and the alleged scams are claims reported by the SCMP, not established here as independently verified facts. The striking point is how little technical spectacle this kind of deception needs: a synthetic face, a familiar emotional appeal and a short-video feed. Can platforms reasonably be expected to catch these scams before viewers do, or should the burden fall on people watching?

Discuss: Should platforms be responsible for detecting AI-made emotional scams before they reach viewers, or is that an unrealistic standard?

Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.