{"id":460170,"date":"2026-06-04T06:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T06:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/460170\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T06:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T06:42:09","slug":"huffer-accused-of-using-ai-to-recreate-models-in-new-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/460170\/","title":{"rendered":"Huffer accused of using AI to recreate models in new campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img  alt=\"Elijah Timmins-Scanlon, Red Eleven model. Photo \/ Stephen Tilley\" class=\"article-media__image responsively-lazy\" data-test-ui=\"article-media__image\"\/>Elijah Timmins-Scanlon, Red Eleven model. Photo \/ Stephen Tilley<\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">The model says after seeing more images that he suspected were AI-generated, he felt more confident in his position. <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">Timmins-Scanlon left a comment on the photo he suspected was AI-generated, writing, \u201cYo that ai model actually goes hard.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cWhich I truly believe,\u201d Timmins-Scanlon says. \u201cI was actually like, \u2018wow, they\u2019re getting good at this\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">He says his Instagram account was blocked by the Huffer page. <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cThat was the final straw,\u201d he tells the Herald. &#8220;I find that super disrespectful.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">Following this, Timmins-Scanlon uploaded his video to Instagram. <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">Huffer managing director Kate Berry denies that the image, highlighted by Timmins-Scanlon, was generated using the model\u2019s likeness. <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cNo faces of our models have been changed other than in normal computer-assisted design. <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cNo one is using models that have been paid by us and changing them.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">When asked if the person in the image was a real human, Berry replied: \u201cI am not commenting on specific images.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">On whether Huffer is generating imagery of new models using AI programs for any of their content, Berry said, \u201cComputer design support has been used in our industry for 30 years.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">Berry confirms Elijah Timmins-Scanlon was blocked from the Instagram page. She says it was for breaking Huffer\u2019s community standards. <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">Earl Gray, intellectual property barrister at Sangro Chambers, says the basis for examining the legality of reproducing someone\u2019s likeness falls under the Fair Trading Act. <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">If a person could be mistaken for being in or consenting to an image that depicts their likeness, that image could be classified as misleading. This would be in breach of the Fair Trading Act. <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cYou\u2019d need to analyse the particular starting point \u2013 how well known the talent is and in what way and how close the context of the subsequent publication. Which, of course, doesn\u2019t make it very easy for talent.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">Red Eleven owner Mandy Jacobsen says she expects the communication for the use of AI for images depicting models to be clear. <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cWe do understand things are changing, but they\u2019ve got to have a conversation with us,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">Jacobsen says the model agency has been attempting to front-foot conversations about image manipulation. <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cWe\u2019ve also put on our invoices, and a few other things, that you cannot manipulate the image without permission from us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">Timmins-Scanlon also says he feels it should always be clear whether a label is using AI to reproduce a model\u2019s likeness, or generating new images of AI models. <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cFrom a business perspective, I get it, trying to cut costs. I think for me it\u2019s the transparency,\u201d Timmins-Scanlon says. <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">Last year, Guess featured an AI-generated model in a two-page advertisement for Vogue magazine. A small disclaimer was printed in the corner of the image explaining that the images were AI-generated. <\/p>\n<p class=\"DjAaGJVL\" style=\"display:none\">Similarly, in February, Gucci was criticised for releasing marked AI-generated imagery on X ahead of their Milan Fashion Week show. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elijah Timmins-Scanlon, Red Eleven model. Photo \/ Stephen Tilley The model says after seeing more images that he&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1117,365,1738,2562,1438,14639,161037,5606,78,15405,1432,5289,117,111,139,69,1118,13910,233523,213,61,13797,3382,87539,190995],"class_list":["post-460170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-accused","tag-ai","tag-campaign","tag-claims","tag-fashion","tag-generate","tag-huffer","tag-images","tag-in","tag-label","tag-model","tag-models","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-previously","tag-recreate","tag-sports","tag-to","tag-used","tag-using","tag-worked","tag-zealandowned"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}