A video that spliced Chinese actress Yang Mi with Athena Chu, an older Hong Kong actress who starred in a 25-year-old TV series The Legend of the Condor Heroes set China's social media alight, and not in an altogether positive manner.

Chinese 'netizens' criticised its creator for disrespecting both actresses and of violating Yang's image rights, and worried about the broader effects of the technology on society.

The video creator, who went under the pseudonym Xiao (which translates as 'Brother Face-Swapping'), apologised, claiming he had wanted to educate the public on the danger of deepfakes.

The video was removed from Weibo, China's Twitter equivalent. 

However, many copies continue to circulate online.