Listen to this article
Approximately 4 minutes
The audio version of this article was created using text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.
Fake video purporting to show leaked footage of upcoming Grand Craft Auto VI has angered gamers and renewed concerns about AI-generated content after it was reportedly viewed millions of times.
The video, posted on X but then taken down, claimed that the main character Lucia was walking around the fictional version of Florida in the game. According to gaming news site IGNand it was viewed more than eight million times in less than 24 hours.
The person behind the X account, called Zap Actu GTA6, told IGN that the video was created to “observe people's reactions and demonstrate how easy it has become in 2025 to blur the line between reality and AI-generated content,” adding that “it was never done with bad intentions.”
Zap Actu GTA6 later told IGN: “It was actually a huge joke, I just did it to entertain the community. Sorry for the false hope lol.”
Replies to some of the later Zap Actu GTA6 posts that are still online suggest that gamers weren't really entertained.
“Disgusting behavior,” one person said, while another advocated for the account to be suspended. Many others were laced with profanity.
Zap Aktu apologized for the confusion on Thursday, promising to focus on publishing “official, verified GTA6 news” and “clearly labeled theoretical or speculative content” in the future. They also stated that they did not receive any advertising revenue through video views or other actions.
Fake videos are common
Grand Theft Auto VI will follow the latest major installment in the franchise, which has sold over 200 million copies since launching in 2013 and has been supported by online multiplayer content over the years.
To date, publisher Rockstar Games has only published two short trailers and a few screenshots of the highly anticipated game. None of the trailers contain any gameplay, but instead show finished cinematic scenes that are more meant to introduce the characters, the world, and create an overall mood.
The game, originally scheduled for release in late 2025, was recently postponed until November 19, 2026 – the second major delay since the release of the first trailer.
However, searching for the game online results in a flood of fake screenshots and videos purporting to reveal new details. Some claim that these are new trailers, but hidden in the description is the disclaimer that this is a fan or concept video.
IGN news director Wesley Yin-Poole told CBC News that some writers can make money by contributing to viral posts. But also “it can be an indirect play for revenue — you can promote other products through the description of a YouTube video” or on an online discussion forum such as Discord, he said.
Rockstar generally refrains from commenting on such videos and rumors. Yin-Pool said that if they had done that, “they probably wouldn't have done anything else. GTA VI rumors almost every day of the week.”
Rockstar however responded to a real leak footage of unfinished work on the game back in 2022, blaming an illegal “network intrusion” by a third party.
Fake posts fool Google AI
Not only does AI make it easier to create fake videos of a game the public hasn't played yet; it also makes distributing them easier than ever.
Polygon reported that earlier this year, a YouTuber named Jeffrey Phillips tricked the Google Artificial Intelligence Review tool into repeating a made-up claim he made that the game had a button that allowed the main character to twerk simply by posting a message.repeat a false statement over and over again on social media.
And eEarlier this month, some users received a notification on their phone from Google about a new, so-called final trailer GTA VI – fake again.
