Shopee and TikTok sellers complain about misleading AI videos
Sellers and creators in Singapore said that artificial intelligence-generated videos on Shopee and TikTok inaccurately portray their products and, in their view, harm their brands’ reputations. As Channel NewsAsia reports, author Xie Shi Min found a video on Shopee presenting her novel Ghost Hunters of Geylang as a fun and friendly children’s adventure.
In fact, the young adult novel addresses intergenerational trauma, emotional and verbal abuse, and contains horror elements. In the video, an AI avatar claimed that readers could “smell durian” from its pages, although the fruit is mentioned in only one line of the novel and is unrelated to the main plot. The algorithm turned the symbolic sword on the cover into a pole.
Complaints about videos
Xie Shi Min reported the video to publisher Epigram Books, which contacted Shopee and advised the author to file a complaint as well. Chloe Chee, the publisher’s online sales and marketing manager, said that five or six authors had approached the company with similar problems. Since March, the publisher has complained about around 10 listings, but is unsure whether all the videos were removed.
According to Chee, the seller dashboard includes options to disable AI images, but not videos. When Xie Shi Min checked the novel’s page again on August 20, there was already another AI-generated video there.
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Inaccurate sizes and colors
Ko Wan Yi, owner of the Helumi design studio, also saw videos on TikTok and later on Shopee in which AI characters advertised her planners, diaries, and other paper products. In one video, an annual calendar appeared disproportionately large, while in others stickers were shown enlarged or in incorrect colors. Ko believes this could give buyers a false impression of the product.
She asked a TikTok Shop manager to block individual affiliate creators, but was advised to disable the open collaboration option, which allows creators to share and promote products. Ultimately, Ko disabled the option before launching a new collection, though she noted that this makes it harder to work with bona fide partners.
A Shopee representative said that the platform had contacted the affected sellers. The company said that product videos may include user materials, including AI-generated content, and recommended that sellers report such content for review. Shopee did not answer questions about whether sellers are informed about such videos and whether they can remove them independently or replace them with their own videos.
