AI-Generated Fake Images of Kate Garraway with Fictional Boyfriend Circulate Online
AI-generated fake images of British broadcaster Kate Garraway with a fictional boyfriend circulated online for nearly a year, starting after her husband's death in 2024. The images appeared on fake Facebook accounts and fraudulent AI-powered news sites that published fabricated stories about the relationship, reportedly causing distress to her children.
What happened
AI-generated images of broadcaster Kate Garraway with a fictional boyfriend began circulating online nearly a year ago, just after the death of her husband Derek Draper in January 2024.
The images initially appeared on fake Facebook accounts impersonating Garraway, and later AI bot sites posing as news sites created fabricated stories about the fake relationship, including claims that her son was damaging it due to selfishness and missing his father.
Reported impact
Garraway said the fake images and stories were hurtful to her children, particularly when false narratives involved them and could be read by their teachers as trusted news sources.
Members of the public approached Garraway on the street asking her about her new relationship, unaware the images were AI-generated.
Index analysis
X announced restrictions to prevent its integrated AI chatbot Grok from generating sexualised images following calls from British MPs, in response to widespread concerns about synthetic media.
Governance controls
Garraway urged the public to use trusted news sources when consuming information online and highlighted the need to distinguish between credible journalism and fabricated content.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.