Increasingly Convincing AI-Generated GTA 6 Gameplay ‘Leaks’ Are Getting Millions of Views on Social Media
In a recent incident that has stirred up the gaming community, a Twitter post from the account Zap Actu GTA6 claimed to showcase leaked gameplay footage of the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI. The post, which quickly garnered over 8 million views within 24 hours, was accompanied by an alarming message about a “serious situation” regarding the leak. However, it was later revealed that the video was not genuine gameplay but rather an AI-generated creation designed to mimic what fans might expect from the upcoming blockbuster. Despite a community note warning viewers about its authenticity, the clip continued to spread rapidly across social media, highlighting the ongoing struggle with misinformation in the digital age.
This incident is part of a broader trend where AI-generated content, including deepfakes, has become increasingly prevalent, often misleading audiences and celebrities alike. Notable figures such as Brian Cox, Keanu Reeves, and Tom Hanks have publicly expressed their frustrations over unauthorized uses of their likenesses through AI technologies. The proliferation of such content raises significant concerns about copyright infringement and the ethical implications of using AI for entertainment. As the technology behind generative AI continues to evolve, distinguishing between real and fake content is becoming more challenging, prompting calls for stricter regulations and clearer labeling of AI-generated material. In a surprising twist, the account behind the GTA 6 “leak” later admitted it was a deliberate prank aimed at demonstrating how easily misinformation can spread online, revealing that about half of the viewers believed the fake footage was real.
The Zap Actu GTA6 incident serves as a cautionary tale about the potential dangers of consuming content in an era where AI can convincingly replicate reality. As fans eagerly await the release of GTA VI, this situation underscores the need for greater awareness and critical thinking when engaging with online media. While some may find humor in the trolling, the underlying issue of misinformation remains a serious concern that both creators and consumers must navigate carefully. As discussions about the ethical use of AI continue, the gaming community and beyond will need to advocate for stronger protections against the misuse of technology to ensure that excitement for upcoming releases is not overshadowed by confusion and deception.
“GTA 6 ALERT – EXTREMELY SERIOUS SITUATION,” reads the X / Twitter post from the Zap Actu GTA6 account. The supposed gameplay clip of Rockstar’s upcoming surefire blockbuster is brief, but, if true, a shocking leak indeed.
Of course, it’s not true. It’s not a leak. It’s not even real gameplay. It’s yet another AI-generated GTA 6 “leak” video viewed by millions that remains live across social media, which seems unable to do anything about it beyond the odd community note.
The tweet below, published yesterday, November 25, has gone viral, securing 8 million views in just over 24 hours. Below it, a community note warns against its authenticity, but that appears to be doing little to dull its impact. And it is far from the only one. The same Twitter account responsible for this “leak” has published a number of similar clips in recent months, some of which which have a huge number of views, all in a desperate bid for followers and Discord members.
🚨🚨 GTA 6 ALERT – EXTREMELY SERIOUS SITUATION 🚨🚨
A new and highly disturbing leak has just surfaced on TikTok before being taken down only minutes later — but the damage is already done. The video allegedly showed a real gameplay moment where the player is controlling Lucia,…
pic.twitter.com/iSD4duGEPu
— Zap Actu GTA6 (@zapactugta6)
November 25, 2025
Based on the replies, many Twitter users are taking these leaks at face value. It’s a problem GTA 6 has faced for some time now, which probably comes as little surprise given the intense excitement and thirst for new information on what is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time. But it is far from the only video game to suffer from this problem. Indeed, video games are not alone in this, either.
Last month, IGN reported on physicist Brian Cox,
who went public with complaints about YouTube accounts that had used AI to create deepfakes of him saying “nonsense” about comet 3I/ATLAS
. Similarly,
Keanu Reeves recently hit out at AI deepfakes of the John Wick star selling products without his permission
, insisting “it’s not a lot of fun.” In July, it was reported that
Reeves pays a company a few thousand dollars a month to get the likes of TikTok and Meta to take down imitators
.
In 2023, Tom Hanks warned fans that an AI version of his likeness was being used without his consent in an online advert for a dental plan. Last year, Morgan Freeman thanked fans who alerted him to AI-generated imitations of his voice online after a series of videos created by someone posing as his niece went viral. And in May this year, Jamie Lee Curtis was forced to appeal to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an Instagram post because she couldn’t get the company to pull an AI-generated ad that featured her likeness for “some bullshit that I didn’t authorize, agree to or endorse.”
What is the solution here? In July, YouTube was said to be preparing to update its policies to crack down on creators’ ability to generate revenue from “inauthentic” content, which is made easy to produce on a massive scale with generative AI. While propelled forward by the great YouTube algorithm, you’ve probably stumbled across a fake trailer or two. The hope was that YouTube would be able to crack down on the channels that pump out this sort of low-effort content, but a cursory glance at YouTube shows this has yet to happen.
Without legislation forcing content built by generative AI tools to include labels clearly marking it as such, or laws preventing deepfakes without permission, fans will continue to be misled by bad actors. And as generative AI technology improves, so it will become harder to distinguish between the fake and the real.
Can anything meaningful be done? Last month,
the Japanese government made a formal request asking OpenAI to refrain from copyright infringement
after Sora 2 users generated videos featuring the likenesses of copyrighted characters from anime and video games.
Sora 2, which OpenAI launched on October 1, is capable of generating 20-second long videos at 1080p resolution, complete with sound. Soon after its release, social media was flooded with videos generated by the app, many of which contained depictions of copyrighted characters including those from popular anime and game franchises such as One Piece, Demon Slayer, PokĂ©mon, and Mario. Despite the prostetations of the Japanese, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declared Sora 2 videos using copyrighted characters “interactive fan fiction.”
Zap Actu GTA6, meanwhile, has come clean,
admitting on social media
that they were trolling the internet.
“I have NO real leaked information about GTA 6,” they said. “Everything you saw was entirely generated by AI. The goal was to show how incredibly easy it is in 2025 to fool people with fake ‘leaks.’
“I’m still sharing this fake GTA 6 trailer for fun, and honestly… I wouldn’t be surprised if the real game looks pretty close to this when it finally drops.”
Then: “Funny fact: around 50% believed it, while the other 50% clearly spotted the AI. That alone says a lot.”
Amid the inevitable backlash, Zap Actu GTA6 responded: “Please excuse me if some people took it the wrong way. I just wanted to do this to create a little hype and see people’s reactions.”
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Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
