Warren Buffett worries about imposters, says he doesn’t support candidates or investments

Warren Buffett takes the stage before Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting on May 3, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska.

David A. Grogen | David A. Grogen CNBC

Warren Buffett is concerned about a growing number of impersonators trying to use his name to recommend investment products or political candidates on social media. so much that Berkshire Hathaway A rare addition statement Post this to the homepage of their website.

The statement is as follows:

“Given the increased use of social media, there have been numerous fraudulent claims that Mr. Buffett endorses investment products and that he endorses and supports political candidates. Mr. Buffett does not currently and will not in the future endorse investment products or endorse and support political candidates. people.

“I’m worried about someone impersonating me, which is why we put it on the Berkshire website,” the Berkshire chairman and CEO elaborated to CNBC’s Becky Quick.

Buffett’s announcement comes during a tense political season, with the presidential race stalled between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, with Elon Musk, Bill Ackman and Mark Cuban and other Wall Street and Silicon Valley bigwigs are divided over this. new york times report On Tuesday, Bill Gates privately donated $50 million to nonprofit groups to support Harris’ campaign.

There are also broader concerns about so-called deepfakes, which are the use of artificial intelligence to impersonate influential figures for commercial gain or other purposes, with images or videos appearing increasingly closer to reality thanks to advances in technology . For those familiar with the investing legend’s views, any endorsement of investment products or cryptocurrencies by Buffett will be met with suspicion, as he is known for shying away from Bitcoin and has largely recommended that ordinary investors buy low-cost indexes fund.

But Buffett wants to make sure everyone knows he would never do anything like that. His actions were motivated in part by false political endorsements YuanInstagram caught his attention.

“I don’t even know how to get on Instagram,” he told CNBC, adding that he wants to make sure people realize “anything they see through my image or my voice is not me.”

——Becky Quick and Lacey O’Toole reporting.