A disturbing case of digital appropriation has surfaced involving the prediction market platform Kalshi and content creator Elliot Choy. Choy discovered that one of his YouTube videos had been repurposed as an advertisement for the company, but with a significant AI-driven twist: his face had been replaced by a digitally generated white man.
According to Choy, the footage used was from a video he posted in September 2025 documenting his move to a New York City apartment. While the setting and creative concept of the original video were preserved, the identity of the person on screen was altered. This replacement of an Asian-American creator with a white digital character has added a layer of racial erasure to the controversy.
Kalshi’s Defense and the "Old Ad" Narrative
In response to inquiries from NPR journalist Bobby Allyn, a Kalshi spokesperson confirmed the ad's authenticity but claimed it was part of an older campaign. The company stated it has since moved away from AI-generated advertisements and is currently reviewing its relationship with the third-party agency responsible for the production.
The timing of the discovery is particularly awkward for Kalshi. The company has recently publicized a shift toward high-end productions involving human crews and professional talent. Keaton Inglis, Kalshi’s Head of Growth, has described this as a commitment to "human creativity," contrasting it with the company’s 2025 experiments where it produced AI ads for as little as $2,000.
Implications for the Creator Economy
The incident highlights the growing ease with which deepfake tools can be used to hijack intellectual property for commercial gain. Serious questions remain regarding who authorized the use of Choy's content, the identity of the production agency involved, and whether other creators have been similarly targeted.
As AI tools become more sophisticated, the boundary between creative inspiration and digital identity theft continues to blur, leaving creators vulnerable to having their likenesses—and their racial identities—manipulated without consent or compensation.
