By Amara Osei

A fake image of actress Mia Goth wearing a sweatshirt reading "MY EX IS MY BIGGEST FAN" collected more than 500,000 likes on Instagram after her divorce from Shia LaBeouf was announced — and Google's AI overview treated it as real when users searched her name, according to PR Daily's editorial director Allison Carter.

The account that posted it, @miagoth_, carried a blue checkmark. That badge no longer signals verification; it only means the account paid a fee. Goth's team had already complained to Instagram about the account before the image spread, Carter reported. Meta took the account down only after The Verge asked about it.

"Beyond that, it is incomprehensible that Instagram evidently prioritizes the dissemination of forged and manipulated images over the protection and integrity of a public figure's likeness," Christine Tripicchio, a representative for Goth, said in an email to The Verge.

Takeaway: platforms moved after press scrutiny, not after the rights holder's complaint.

When should brands answer a deepfake?

Not always, Carter argued. YouTube, which has some of the most robust likeness identification in the social media space, said relatively few celebrities ask for their imagery to be taken down, finding it to be "fairly benign or additive to their overall business." Amjad Hanif, YouTube's vice president of creator products, made the comment in March.

Carter drew two lessons. First, social networks — Instagram especially — must handle takedown requests from clearly fraudulent accounts faster. Second, an old PR maxim applies: you do not need to respond to everything. Some deepfakes, such as one The Verge site showing Taylor Swift using a slur, or the Goth image, which could complicate a divorce, carry real damage. In many other cases, giving a deepfake attention only amplifies it.

Her test for communicators: does the content pose long-term damage? Would it upset a shareholder, an employee, a prospective customer? Would it create genuine confusion? If no, let it slip into meme obscurity.

Why universities fumble crisis response

The New York Times examined on October 14, 2026 why universities flounder in crises, from Cornell's current situation to the Penn State sexual abuse scandal to a bonfire collapse that killed 12 people. Carter identified shared failure patterns.

The most prominent is speed, or the lack of it. Universities run on slow committees and thoroughly researched papers; Cornell's president took a month to sit for a public interview. Other missteps include overly lawyerly answers that lack empathy, hiring outsiders for investigations released years later, and replacing leadership without fixing systemic issues.

Takeaway: crisis response today must be fast and thorough at once, and balancing the two is the hardest part.

Five Guys bets $100,000 on worker storytelling

Five Guys released a five-part documentary series on Amazon Prime, "On The Line: The World Burger Games," following employees from qualifying rounds to a final stage in a burger and fry-making competition with $100,000 at stake.

"At its heart, this series is about the people who bring Five Guys to life every day; their pride, dedication, camaraderie and the incredible culture they've built across the globe," said David Chamberlin, president of Full Day Productions, which partnered with Five Guys and Lost Tribe Creative. He called it an "intimate, character-driven look" at the brand's tradition.

Carter placed the series in a longer arc: brands pressing into entertainment recall the heyday of the Pillsbury Bake-Off, which gets its own TV special in November. Genuinely interesting stories with strong production value build goodwill that a pushy commercial cannot.

Tesla's flying car that you cannot buy

A Tesla Roadster drove up a ramp, flipped in midair like a cat landing on its feet, and hovered above the floor on rocket launchers, as The Guardian reported on October 16, 2026. The video looks AI-generated. It is not.

Can you buy that car? No. "I'm not sure it's necessarily legal in all jurisdictions," Elon Musk admitted. Two versions that are similar — minus the flying — are for sale.

Carter called it the classic splashy PR stunt: the demonstrated product is unavailable, but the event drew attention to the products that are. The gap between what is shown and what is sold is the whole play — and, so far, audiences keep rewarding it.