Country music legend Dolly Parton died this week, and doctored images of the icon in the hospital are circulating online.
There are no publicly available photos of Dolly Parton hospitalized or wearing a patient gown, but if you go on social media, you might not know that.
On the morning of Aug. 27, Mashable observed at least three YouTube videos with fake, likely AI-generated images of Parton hospitalized in the thumbnails. The videos were surfaced by the YouTube app in sections labeled “Videos on the rise” and “YouTube featured”:
Credit: Screenshot: YouTube
Credit: Screenshot: YouTube
One thumbnail features Parton in a gown surrounded by tubes in front of, bizarrely, a city background, as if it was generated using images of both Parton and news anchors:
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Credit: Screenshot: YouTube
Another thumbnail surfaced in the “YouTube featured” section and featured singer Jelly Roll with a superimposed image of Parton in the clouds:
Credit: YouTube
According to a description in YouTube’s app, the featured section “promotes YouTube features and programs, often using content that YouTube has chosen based on your viewing habits or through manual selections.” Below all these videos is the “hyped,” label, meaning that viewers tapped the Hype button on the app to boost the video’s discoverability.
As of the afternoon of Aug. 27, all four videos remained live. Three displayed a “Made with AI” label when opened, along with a disclaimer in the description stating, “Sounds or visuals were altered or fully generated.”
The video about Dolly Parton’s sister, Stella Parton, did not have this label.
A YouTube spokesperson told Mashable, “We are reviewing and will take action against any content or channels found to be in violation of our policies.” Mashable has also reached out to the available YouTube channels.
