American rapper and music producer Sean "Diddy" Combs was arrested in mid-September. He is accused of extortion, human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, fraud and coercion, among other things, ARD recalls. Currently, more than 120 potential victims have taken legal action against him, prosecutors are investigating him, and new charges are coming one after the other.
Along with the information about the allegations against Combs, however, comes a lot of misinformation and speculation on the subject. Songs generated by artificial intelligence, fake videos and conspiracy theories about Combs flooded TikTok, writes ARD. According to expert Una Tietz, the reason is that spreading rumors is an ideal format for a platform like TikTok. Short videos with speculation are successful, she believes. "Content creators, from crime stories to pop culture phenomena, specialize in the speculative and disinformation format," Tietz says. It remains difficult to indicate the sources of information on the platform as well.
Trump, not Harris, has photos with Combs
Several photos and videos are circulating on social media that purport to show Kamala Harris with Combs. However, they are not real. In one of them, the Democratic candidate is allegedly at one of Diddy's parties, where the rapper allegedly sexually assaulted her. It is being falsely reported that Harris' team spent more than five million dollars to get the image off the Internet, ARD writes. In fact, the presidential candidate's face was artificially added to the photo.
A reverse search of the image shows that the photo was taken in 2019, and it's fashion stylist Misa Hilton, not Kamala Harris, with Combs. Another fake image, in which Combs' face was superimposed on a photo of Harris with host Montel Williams, was even shared by Donald Trump. At the same time, there are a number of authentic photos of the Republican candidate posing with Sean Combs.
Many other popular figures have been linked to Combs, often with manipulated content. The reasons for this are different, Titz explains to ARD. "There is no coherent and overarching discourse, as is usually the case with conspiracy narratives, but rather many smaller stories.". Various groups of people use such suggestion to "prove" their theses or to make relevant suggestions.
Song generated with artificial intelligence
The name of Canadian musician Justin Bieber is also often mentioned in connection with the Combs scandal. Bieber is said to be one of the American rapper's victims. For "evidence" a song is introduced that sounds like it was performed by the Canadian. In it he sings: "I got lost at Diddy's party, I didn't know it would end like this. I was there for a new Ferrari, but it cost me much more than my soul. They were not worth the wealth and fame."
Justin Bieber, however, has never performed such a song - it was generated with artificial intelligence using his voice, writes ARD. No such song exists.
Claim of secret tunnels and connections to other houses
A lot of information can also be found on social media about the alleged tunnels under the Combs estate. According to some publications, the tunnels connected the rapper's house with the mansion of "Playboy" nearby, and others claim that Michael Jackson's home could be reached through them. However, there is no evidence for any of these claims.
All that is known is that law enforcement has discovered a tunnel under the Combs mansion. However, it is said to be actually connected to an underground pool in the house, ARD said. However, the American media reported this years ago. "Los Angeles Times" says that the Combs house has a huge swimming pool and an underwater cave that are connected by a tunnel.
The footage being circulated, which is said to show the tunnel, is also not authentic, the German public-law media wrote. Also circulating on social media is the claim that a video aired by CNN narrates how Combs and another American rapper, Jay-Z, committed "illegal sexual assaults" in the tunnel. However, CNN has never published such footage, and the video in question was actually created with artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence fuels conspiracy theories
Once again, a video purporting to be from the animated series "The Simpsons" and that it "predicts" the Sean Combs scandal. However, it is also created with artificial intelligence and shows the cartoon version of the rapper running from the police. Such a scene has never been broadcast in the series, writes ARD.
"In general, AI-generated content is perfect for spreading misinformation and thus fueling conspiracy theories," says Tietz. And TikTok does not clearly indicate such content.