Virtual characters produced with artificial intelligence reached millions of views on social media

While extraordinary and absurd virtual characters produced with artificial intelligence technology have been viewed millions of times on social media, local figures such as Master Mustafa and Aunt Halime in Turkey have reached large numbers of followers and high view rates in a short time.

While a construction master is dancing on an ice rink on Instagram, another account features an Anatolian aunt giving recipes against pregnancy stretch marks. While characters with extraordinary appearances in different parts of the world have fun together and share videos, the common feature of these individuals is that they do not actually exist. Artificial intelligence has taken the production of absurd humor and exaggerated characters to a completely different dimension.

Lil Miquela emerged in 2016 as one of the first major examples of virtual influencers. With the widespread adoption of generative artificial intelligence, creating digital characters has become more accessible, and the obligation to resemble a real human has decreased. Jean Philanthrope, with approximately 500,000 followers, and Granny Spills, with 2.1 million followers, are among the examples of this trend. Meanwhile, the Fruit Love Island series published on TikTok in March 2026 reached over 3.3 million followers in its first 10 days and generated more than 200 million views, according to WIRED.

Artificial intelligence characters appear in Turkey with types of people we recognize from daily life. Mustafa Koyuncu, who appears on Instagram with the username mustafausta4242, looks like a classic Turkish construction master with his plaid shirt, mustache, and belly, and the video of him dancing on an ice rink published on October 13 was viewed 5.1 million times in a single day. On the account with the username halimeteyze.ogutler, Aunt Halime, seen in a traditional kitchen with her headscarf and glasses, shares practical kitchen information; the account reached approximately 52.4 thousand followers in about three days, and one of her videos giving advice on pregnancy stretch marks was viewed 4.5 million times in 24 hours.

Artificial intelligence characters do not just share videos on their own accounts; they also take part in collaborative content with other digital characters and tag each other. While the ability of a single person to manage multiple digital identities raises the question of who is behind the accounts we encounter on the internet, according to Imperva's 2025 Bad Bot Report, automated systems made up 51 percent of global internet traffic in 2024.