Revelum in the Media: How Our Detection Data Powered Forbes and Teleamazonas Investigations into Deepfake Fraud
Revelum's deepfake detection systems supplied the evidence behind two Forbes Colombia investigations and a Teleamazonas national-television investigation in Ecuador, documenting five scam campaigns that cloned David Vélez, Mario Hernández, Gustavo Petro, Shakira, and Daniel Noboa.
Revelum’s deepfake detection data became the foundation for two Forbes Colombia investigations and a national-television investigation on Ecuador’s Teleamazonas, together documenting five separate scam campaigns that cloned the faces of David Vélez, Mario Hernández, Gustavo Petro, Shakira, and Daniel Noboa. Across print and broadcast, in two countries, the reporting put hard numbers behind a problem most people only sense vaguely: organized criminal networks are cloning trusted public figures and running the results as paid advertising, at scale, in plain sight.
This page is the index to that coverage. Below is what each investigation found, links to the original reporting, and links to our full case-study breakdowns of each campaign.
The Two Forbes Colombia Investigations
Both stories started the same way. Revelum’s monitoring systems, which continuously scan advertising and social platforms for synthetic media, surfaced networks of fraudulent ads built around deepfakes of well-known figures. Forbes Colombia took that detection data and investigated.
David Vélez: a deepfake “scam machine”
In an exclusive investigation published April 9, 2026, Forbes Colombia documented an operation that generated 51 fraudulent ads in a single 30-day window, all cloning David Vélez, founder of the digital bank Nu, to push a fake investment scheme on Facebook and Instagram. The headline called it a “machine” for a reason: a handful of deepfake videos were recycled across dozens of ads with industrial efficiency. Since the article published, Revelum has detected 356 more deepfakes of him, the campaign did not stop when it made the news.
Read our full breakdown: Inside the Deepfake Scam Machine Impersonating David Vélez
Mario Hernández: one network, many faces
Two weeks earlier, on March 27, 2026, Forbes Colombia reported on a second network: 24 fraudulent ads using AI-generated videos of entrepreneur Mario Hernández to promote a fictitious investment platform called “Anticrisis.” Revelum has detected 801 more in the three months since, 825 in total. The same infrastructure was simultaneously impersonating other Latin American figures, including bank executives, which revealed it as a cross-border criminal operation rather than an isolated scam.
Read our full breakdown: The “Anticrisis” Deepfake Network Impersonating Mario Hernández
The Teleamazonas Investigation (Ecuador)
The reach of this work was not limited to print. Teleamazonas, one of Ecuador’s main national television networks, built a segment of its “A la caza de Deep Fakes” investigation directly on Revelum’s data. On air, the presenters credited the source explicitly: “Revelum, the platform that detects deepfakes, has sent us very valuable information about these videos circulating everywhere.”
The segment walked viewers through three live campaigns Revelum had detected:
- President Gustavo Petro (Colombia) — a fake government-backed investment scheme; the figures presented on air were 87 fraudulent ads across 20 pages and 17 distinct videos, running from January through May 2026.
- Shakira — a fake skincare “natural recipe” paired with a “comment to win $1,000” engagement trap; 15 fraudulent ads across 10 pages and 9 distinct videos, peaking around her Copacabana concert.
- President Daniel Noboa (Ecuador) — a fraudulent investment platform built around a fabricated testimonial.
Watch the segment: Teleamazonas — “A la caza de Deep Fakes”
Read our full breakdown: How Teleamazonas Used Revelum’s Data to Expose Deepfakes of Petro, Shakira, and Noboa
What This Coverage Establishes
Read together, five campaigns across two countries and two of the region’s most credible outlets point to a single conclusion:
This is one playbook, not isolated incidents. Every case clones a trusted, recognizable figure, because that borrowed authority is the actual product the scam is selling. It is the same dynamic behind executive impersonation on social platforms everywhere.
The channel is mainstream paid advertising. These are not fringe links. They are sponsored ads served by the largest platforms to targeted audiences, consistent with the broader pattern of deepfake fraud across Latin America.
The scale is measurable, and someone has to measure it. Fifty-one ads. Eighty-seven ads. Networks of domains impersonating bank presidents. These numbers describe infrastructure, and they only became public because they were being counted. Pairing detection data with serious journalism is what turns an invisible problem into a documented one.
What Revelum Does
Revelum detects and removes deepfakes at scale, monitoring advertising and social platforms for synthetic media that impersonates executives, public figures, and brands, then filing and tracking takedowns until the fraudulent content is gone. The evidence behind the Forbes investigations and the Teleamazonas feature came from that same monitoring infrastructure.
If you want to understand your exposure, or put a plan in place before a campaign targets you, we’re here.
We’ll assess your situation and tell you what we’re seeing, typically within 24 hours.
Revelum is a deepfake detection and removal service operating globally, with a focus on the Americas and Europe. We protect executives, public figures, political leaders, and organizations from AI-generated disinformation and fraud.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every situation is different, and we strongly recommend consulting a qualified legal professional for guidance specific to your circumstances. Revelum’s services are operational in nature and do not replace legal counsel.
Frequently asked questions
- Has Revelum been featured in the press?
- Yes. Revelum's deepfake detection data was the basis for two investigations published by Forbes Colombia in 2026, and Revelum supplied the intelligence for an investigation aired by Teleamazonas, one of Ecuador's main national television networks. Together this coverage documented five distinct deepfake scam campaigns impersonating David Vélez, Mario Hernández, Gustavo Petro, Shakira, and Daniel Noboa.
- What did the Forbes and Teleamazonas investigations find?
- They documented organized criminal networks running deepfake ads on Facebook and Instagram that clone trusted public figures to sell fake investment schemes and products. Forbes covered a network producing 51 fraudulent ads in 30 days impersonating Nu founder David Vélez, and a separate "Anticrisis" platform using AI videos of entrepreneur Mario Hernández. Teleamazonas presented Revelum's data on campaigns impersonating Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the artist Shakira, and Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa.
- How does Revelum detect these deepfake campaigns?
- Revelum continuously monitors advertising and social platforms for synthetic media that impersonates executives, public figures, and brands, then files and tracks takedowns until the fraudulent content is removed. The evidence behind the Forbes and Teleamazonas coverage came from that same monitoring infrastructure.