THE RISE OF DEEPFAKE PORN

Woman's Own investigates the worrying increase in fake content being created online

- LOUISE BATY

We all know that the internet can be a scary place for children, with the risk of them coming across violent or sexualised adult content. But now there's a new danger – and it's not even real.

Deepfakes - realistic imagery created by AI technology - have been on the rise since March 2020, when the first deepfake mobile app was launched.

Now AI is being used increasingly to create convincing deepfake pornography, featuring likenesses of celebrities including Taylor Swift and Scarlett Johansson.

Worrying new stats reveal that more than a quarter (26%) of children have seen a sexualised deepfake nude of a celebrity, friend, teacher or themselves*.

LEGISLATIVE CATCH-UP

Anyone can be targeted by deepfake porn, created and shared without consent, and the effects on victims can be devastating.

While sharing deepfake pornography is illegal in the UK, the creation of the content itself is currently not. With campaigners saying more needs to be done to protect us all from this worrying new technology, we examine the risks associated with it.

'I felt violated'

Kate Isaacs, 32, lives in London

Scrolling on social media, I sighed as I read reams of abusive messages, all aimed at me. It was 12 December 2020 and, as a feminist campaigner, my activism had recently led to adult entertainment sites, including Pornhub, removing all videos uploaded to the site by unverified users.