Vinted, Amazon, Etsy: Online sales sites flooded with AI-powered ads

One layer of plastic covers another. Unpacking this package from Vinted, we weren't expecting a miracle. But this sleeveless sweater, purchased for around twenty euros, in a plain beige, really has nothing going for it. Neither the cut nor the manufacturing details. Worse, no label details its origin or composition, and the item reeks of synthetics. It was to be expected. Upon closer inspection, the ad raises questions. The product photos show a young man with unreal features, straight out of a wax museum. On him, a sweater with rough contours, as if the seams had fused with its wearer. And among the glowing reviews left for the seller—false, of course—a few disappointed buyers, suspecting dropshipping , an online sales practice in which the seller doesn't have any merchandise in stock.

With the democratization of generative AI tools, platforms like Etsy, Vinted, Instagram, and Amazon are flooded with such products. A strange cat-shaped lamp made of multicolored stained glass, an extremely delicate ring, worthy of a science fiction film, supposedly "ethically" made. And once in the hands of consumers, products of appalling quality, far from matching their description.

Across the Atlantic, journalist Kolina Koltai,