Deepfake crisis management: how PR teams can protect CEOs and brands from digital impersonation

In the past few years, deepfake technology has moved from internet curiosity to corporate crisis catalyst. Synthetic media – AI-generated or manipulated content such as deepfake videos, cloned voices or fabricated images – can now produce convincing imitations of a CEO in minutes. Cybercriminals exploit this for fraud, impersonation and manipulation, including fake CEO calls, investor scams or falsified KYC checks. Once such content spreads, the damage to trust and reputation can be immediate.

Most deepfake attacks exploit the authority of individuals. CEOs, CFOs and other executives are high-value targets precisely because their images and voices carry institutional power. Safeguarding these leadership personas is now an essential dimension of brand protection.

This article explores recent high-profile cases of deepfakes used against CEOs and corporations, as well as the dual role of modern PR teams:

• Detection – spotting signs of digital impersonation before they go viral.
• Response – activating clear, credible communications that restore confidence fast.

Recent deepfake incidents

In the first half of 2025, deepfake incidents surged nearly fourfold compared to all of 2024, with fraud losses exceeding $200 million in just the first quarter of this year alone (WEF). What makes this threat particularly insidious is its accessibility. Technology has advanced rapidly – tools are cheap, fast and easy to use, making deepfakes both easier to create and harder to detect. Criminals can now generate an 85% voice match from as little as three seconds of audio, using technology that costs less than $15 (McAfee).

In 2024, a finance employee at British engineering firm Arup joined what appeared to be a routine video conference with the company’s CFO and several familiar colleagues. The faces were right, the voices were correct, and the tone was urgent: authorise several wire transfers immediately. Everything seemed legitimate, until it wasn’t. By the time the truth emerged, Arup had lost $25 million to fraudsters who had used AI-generated deepfakes to recreate the CFO and other executives in real time (CNN).

Arup’s case wasn’t an isolated incident. Also in 2024, Ferrari narrowly avoided a similar issue when an assistant to CEO Benedetto Vigna received a video call from what appeared to be her boss, urgently requesting a wire transfer to fund an acquisition. Only a quick-thinking question, something only the real Vigna would know, prevented the loss (Bloomberg).

Elon Musk has been targeted at least 20 times by deepfake criminals. Sophisticated videos have shown ‘Musk’ promoting guaranteed cryptocurrency returns, leading to devastating consequences. One 82-year-old retiree, Steve Beauchamp, drained his entire $690,000 retirement fund after watching what he believed was genuine footage of Musk endorsing a crypto investment (NYT).

Even the communications industry itself hasn’t been immune. In 2024, scammers used AI-generated deepfakes to impersonate Mark Read, the CEO of WPP, the world’s largest advertising company. They set up a fake Microsoft Teams meeting using cloned voice audio and video footage of Read taken from public sources, in an attempt to deceive senior WPP executives. The fraud was detected before any damage occurred, and WPP later confirmed the incident as a sophisticated deepfake scam (Guardian).

Around the same time, a finance employee in Hong Kong was tricked into transferring $25 million after attending a video call in which every participant, including the ‘CFO’, was a deepfake (Independent).

These incidents illustrate just how realistic and damaging synthetic media has become. What began as a technological curiosity has evolved into a frontline threat to corporate trust, financial integrity and executive reputation.

For public relations teams, this shift represents a turning point. Deepfakes are not just a cybersecurity problem; they are reputational, communications and crisis management challenge all at once. To operate in this new reality, PR professionals must now master two essential capabilities: detection and response. Below we outline the main steps for building these defences.

Crisis playbook for detection and response

1. Detecting the fakes before they spread

Early detection is critical to protecting reputations. Leading organisations are now investing in early warning systems that combine communications monitoring with cybersecurity intelligence, using social listening tools and AI to analyse voices, images and videos for inconsistencies.

In addition, deepfake awareness training is the new standard for PR and leadership teams, ensuring humans can spot manipulation and act before misinformation escalates.

2. Verifying if content is real

Every moment of uncertainty invites rumour and speculation. That is why leading organisations are introducing formal verification protocols – systems designed to authenticate unexpected media involving their leaders or brand with speed and precision. Many now appoint a senior communicator or ‘authenticity officer’ as the first responder to potential deepfakes. This person coordinates with cybersecurity, legal and executive teams to confirm authenticity by contacting those depicted, tracing sources and cross-checking official communications. Internal safe words or confirmation questions should be established that cannot be replicated publicly.

If authenticity cannot be verified quickly, a pre-approved escalation path should activate: a holding statement, internal alert and immediate crisis team review. The aim is not just to confirm what is real – it is to project control and transparency. A company that calmly states, “We are aware of the video and are verifying its authenticity,” shows authority. Silence, by contrast, suggests confusion, or complicity.

3. Responding carefully: messaging, tone and transparency

When a deepfake incident featuring your CEO or brand does erupt publicly, resist the instinct to respond immediately.

Following a structured verification process, the first public statement must acknowledge awareness of content and investigation while avoiding speculation. Once content is confirmed as false, responses should be factual, calm and values-driven. Ensure every communication channel, from social posts to press statements, reflects the same consistent message.

Handled this way, a deepfake crisis can actually become a demonstration of credibility rather than a collapse of it.

4. Protecting leadership personas

Executives are prime deepfake targets because their identities carry institutional weight. Protecting them requires limiting exploitable media exposure, hosting official media assets on verified, secure platforms and employing technologies like digital watermarking to verify authenticity.

At the same time, executives themselves must be educated about the risks of exposure to cloning. Many leaders remain unaware that a 30-second clip of their voice is all a scammer needs to create a perfect imitation. Awareness is now integral to personal brand management and organisational risk mitigation.

5. Rebuilding trust after a deepfake incident

Even the most prepared organisations may face deepfake breaches, making trust recovery the ultimate communications test. Recovery starts with acknowledging the situation, explaining the verification process and detailing improvements made.

Some companies go further, turning these moments into educational opportunities. By speaking openly about the risks of synthetic media, they position themselves as advocates for digital integrity. Others collaborate with industry peers, policymakers or tech partners to promote standards around authenticity verification (ContentAuthenticity).

The new reality for PR teams

Deepfake technology has blurred the line between what is true and what is believable. These AI-generated manipulations have become an active weapon in cybercrime and human verification alone is no longer reliable. The only sustainable defence combines education, technology and redesigned processes.

For public relations professionals it is a call to evolve. By embedding detection, verification and response systems into their operations, PR teams can turn deepfake risk into a proving ground for credibility. The brands that handle synthetic media with speed, transparency and accountability will survive deception and define the new standards for digital trust.

Get in touch today to discuss how GRA can help safeguard your reputation against deepfake attacks: [email protected].