Cardano developer IOG urges users to avoid its YouTube channel after suspected AI scam stream

IOG tells users to stay away from its YouTube channel

Input Output Group (IOG), the company behind the Cardano blockchain, warned users on Friday to avoid its YouTube channel. The channel had been livestreaming a video that is suspected to have been manipulated with artificial intelligence to show Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson promoting a crypto giveaway.

The company posted the warning on its official X account: “Please avoid interacting with the IO Group YouTube channel until further notice.”

The stream ran for nearly two hours and was presented as a town hall for Project Catalyst, described in the report as a community-run innovation fund and grant program for Cardano.

Key points from the incident

• The suspected manipulated video showed Hoskinson and pointed viewers to a QR code with a promise to “double your wealth.”
• IOG advised users not to click links, send funds, or share personal information in response to content on the channel.
• The livestream was live for nearly two hours before the warning was issued.
• Cointelegraph said it reached out to Input Output Group for comment.

What IOG's warning asked users to do

In its X post, IOG did not explain what happened to the channel. It only told users to stop interacting with it for now and listed three things to avoid: clicking links, sending funds, and sharing personal information in response to anything posted there.

The account used for the warning is the company's official X account, which is the primary source for the instructions.

What is confirmed and what is not

Confirmed: IOG published a public warning on its official X account on Friday, the channel streamed a video featuring Hoskinson's likeness that urged viewers toward a QR code offer, and the company told users to avoid the channel and its content.

Not confirmed: how or why the channel came to show that video. The report describes the situation as an apparent hijack and the video as suspected AI manipulation, meaning neither the takeover nor the use of AI has been established as fact in the supplied material. Nobody has been identified as responsible, and no money lost has been reported.

Input Output Group had not responded to a request for comment at the time of the report.

Why the warning matters to viewers

Giveaway offers that use a well-known person's image can push viewers toward sending crypto or handing over personal details. IOG's warning is aimed at cutting off that path by telling users not to act on anything the channel posts, including links, payments, or personal data.

Sources

• Cointelegraph