There are thousands of varieties of hosta – a leafy ornamental plant you’ve probably seen decorating outdoor spaces – being cultivated around the world in a spectacular spread of colors, sizes and textures. The hardy and easy-to-care plants thrive in shade and can grow large leaves, making them an ideal project for the hobbyist gardener.
Yet despite the glorious natural biodiversity that already exists in the species, scammers on TikTok are using AI-generated slop videos to sell questionable seeds for hosta varieties that don’t exist.
without delay Search An imaginary variety features countless videos of unnaturally colored hostas for “Hosta Seeds” huge, purple leavesTo “god’s rainbow,” a made-up plant that grows gaudy, rainbow-colored leaves that is described as ”so magical, your neighbors will think it’s not real,” according to a robotic-sounding AI voiceover.
“It’s called Midnight Blue Heart,” says a voiceover. different videos“A rare black and blue hosta that looks like it came from another planet,”
The voice continues, “It’s magical, it’s hard, and it’s only a few dollars.” “Tap the link below to order and bring home a Midnight Blue Heart.”
It’s impossible to ignore the obvious symptoms of half-baked AI, from streams of water from the garden hose that blow straight through leaves or cause the plant to disappear entirely, to seeds that magically seem to float on their own when held in hand. Many videos even claim that their hosts can be miraculous Thrive even in icy conditionsWhich is a nonsense possibility: Hostas may be perennials, but are not very frost-tolerant and suffer damage from cold temperatures.
This bizarre trend is part of a much larger flood of AI sloppiness eliminating human-written content on social media platforms.
Author Brie Bridges Saw that his TikTok feed was getting overwhelmed By video.
“TikTok started serving me AI-generated garden content with videos of people allegedly growing plants that clearly look like they came from the planet ‘Avatar,'” Bridges wrote in an article. Post on BlueSky,
“And they sometimes even water them indoors when they water the carpet and they grow up in three days,” he added.
Experts have already warned that hosta lovers should stay away from seeds that claim to grow into imaginary plants. Advertisements based in New York nbc-associated WHEC Showed Bill HagmanThe co-president of the Genesee Valley Hosta Society immediately raised red flags.
“Definitely all fake,” he said.
“to stop!” The TikTok account behind outdoor living store Touch of Echo Said In a recent clip. “If you see these colorful hosta seeds on TikTok, never buy them. These are fake, AI-generated.”
Even before the advent of generic AI, there were counterfeit seeds There is already a widespread scam on the InternetAs YouTuber Atomic Shrimp discovered in a Video Last year, seeds for ready-made flowers such as “cat face flowersObscure features of cats’ faces are being sold in large quantities.
For example, on eBay, “50 seeds for”Cute Cat Face Orchid“Selling for $6.68. The poorly photoshopped or possibly AI-generated images show the faces of cats sitting among imaginary plants.
During his investigation, the Atomic Shrimp noticed something suspicious All seed sellers were using similar “cookie-cutter sites” that “are probably much easier, cheaper, and quicker to deploy than a template.” The sites are likely serving as “front ends for stupid, sham, drop shipping operations, where fulfillment, assuming that is the case, is coming from the same sellers who list the same dubious scam seeds for sale on Wish, AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, and other marketplaces.”
but instead of selling ridiculously photoshopped Seeds for the “Rainbow Tomato” Scammers are using new tactics in a new era defined by AI sloppiness.
An account on TikTok is also recycling the concept of “cute cat orchid” animating images And turn them into a complete video.
one more Video It features the face of an adult cat that appears to literally blink its eyes as its disembodied head is reborn in the shape of a monstrous orchid.
“How did 107 people buy it?” one TikTok account wrote in the comments.
“I can’t believe people actually fell for this,” said another.
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