Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Mike Tyson, and Terry Crews are all known archetypes for physical prowess, stereotypical masculinity, and male virility. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that all of these prominent masculine personas are being used in deepfake adverts to sell supplements to combat erectile dysfunction (ED) issues. Not only that, they’re promising the consumer a “rock hard” experience.

Deepfakes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Mike Tyson, and Terry Crews are being used to sell erectile dysfunction supplements on YouTube that promise to get you ‘rock hard.’ pic.twitter.com/bU7RQG2esN

— 404 Media (@404mediaco) December 4, 2024

“Have you heard about the salt trick that is making me stay hard for hours in bed?” an AI-generated Schwarzenegger asked in the YouTube ad for an alleged erectile dysfunction cure called Prolong Power. “Top adult actors have been using this for the last five years to stay rock hard. I mean, you didn’t think they last that long without a little hack, right?” the Hollywood star continues.

The video-sharing platform is currently home to at least 300 of these ads, according to internet-focused reporting publication 404 Media. Each of them features clips of deepfake celebrities such as Schwarzenegger and Stallone praising supplements that promise to help men with ED.

While conducting its own investigation, SCREENSHOT discovered that some of these ads have been removed. However, due to the vast number of them, the possibility can’t be excluded that many are still circulating or being resubmitted to YouTube.

The promotions in question are shown primarily in the United States, but originate from a company in Brazil, going by R.A.C. da Silva Produtos Infantis, according to the Google Ad Transparency Centre.

Next to celebrity men, the adverts also feature non-celebrity women, who talk about how their “husbands went wild” after “trying a secret simple mix” to treat their ailment.

The promotions lead users to a page that used to be on thrivewithcuriosity.com, a URL that is now ineffective. There, they are asked to confirm whether they are older than 40 to proceed. What follows is a very explicit 40-minute-long presentation about the miracle drug that will likely remind visitors of a sexual health documentary, complete with occasional celebrity cameos, strippers, and adult performers spicing up the performance, of course.

404 Media reported that the explainer they reviewed featured a real Today Show interview actor Stallone did with his wife and three daughters to promote their reality show The Family Stallone. However, the clip was obviously edited with AI-generated audio and lip sync to make it seem as if he’s talking about how hard he can get now to satisfy his wife thanks to this miracle drug.

The video then takes the viewers on a bizarre journey from a strip club in Texas to a fake Harvard urologist’s office to an abandoned church in Thailand where scientists discovered a species of bat with abnormally large and long-lasting erections.

Along this disastrous deepfake ride, we encounter even more artificially created male celebrities such as Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, and adult entertainment star Johnny Sins, who are captured saying that they have been secretly using this secret formula to last longer in bed. 

When the clip eventually finds its conclusion, the viewer is offered the once of a lifetime opportunity to buy six bottles or 180 days-worth of Prolong Power at a mere $49 per bottle…

However, the website is not the only place where the miracle drug is available. On Amazon, Prolong Power has mixed reviews from users, with some warning: “This product is a scam,” “don’t bother,” and the short but sweet review, “fake.”

According to its ingredients label, Prolong Power is made up of a “proprietary blend” of oat bran powder, fennel seed, cascara sagrada bark powderact, and other common ingredients that, according to the National Library of Medicine, are mostly helpful with constipation. Oopsie.

Of course, there is also no known cure for erectile dysfunction and treatments for the condition greatly vary because the causes differ largely. There are physical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, obesity, smoking, and certain medications that can prevent blood flow to the penis to produce an erection, or neurological issues and psychological trauma that can prevent people with penises from “getting hard.”

Prolong Power unsurprisingly falls into the longer list of celebrity deepfake scams. In fact, YouTube deleted around 1,000 similar ads wherein deepfaked celebrities unknowingly pitched scams back in January, highlighting a severe lack of detection and moderation tools to protect users from malicious actors online.