Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A) chairman and CEO Warren Buffett is worried about impersonators on social media fraudulently using his name and likeness to endorse political candidates and investments.
The Details: Buffett told CNBC that he was made aware of a fake political endorsement on Meta Platforms' (NASDAQ: META) Instagram and clarified that he does not support any political candidates or specific investment opportunities.
"I don't even know how to get on Instagram," Buffett told CNBC. He added that people should be aware that "anything they see with my image or my voice, it just ain't me."
Berkshire Hathaway posted a statement to its corporate website warning people to be vigilant against scams that attempt to exploit Buffett's reputation.
The statement reads:
"In light of the increased usage of social media, there have been numerous fraudulent claims regarding Mr. Buffett's endorsement of investment products as well as his endorsement and support of political candidates. Mr. Buffett does not currently and will not prospectively endorse investment products or endorse and support political candidates."
The statement from Berkshire Hathaway's CEO comes in the final days of a tense presidential campaign season that has seen other CEOs including Elon Musk, Bill Ackman and Mark Cuban endorsing their preferred candidates.
The widespread use of artificial intelligence to create "deep fakes" to impersonate celebrities and public figures is also a concern. As AI technologies improve, it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish real images and videos from AI-enhanced fakes.
"I'm worried about people impersonating me and that's why we put that on the Berkshire website. Nobody should believe anybody saying I'm telling them how to invest or how to vote," Buffett said.
BRK-A, BRK-B Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, Berkshire Hathaway Common Stock shares are down 0.4% at $689,852.75 and Berkshire Hathaway New Common Stock shares are down 0.34% at $459.87 at the time of publication Wednesday.