AI-Generated Sexual Deepfakes Sent to Hong Kong Exiles in UK and Australia
Letters containing AI-generated sexually explicit deepfake images of Carmen Lau, a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist in exile in the UK, were sent to her former neighbours in Maidenhead. Similar fake materials targeting Ted Hui, a former Hong Kong legislator now in Australia, and his wife were also distributed. The materials reportedly form part of a harassment campaign against Hong Kong exiles living overseas.
What happened
Letters containing five deepfaked images of Carmen Lau with her face superimposed on female bodies naked or in underwear were sent to at least half a dozen of her former neighbours in Maidenhead, UK, in recent weeks. The letters included Lau's name, body measurements, former home address, and text describing sexual services.
In Australia, a fake poster advertising Ted Hui's wife's services as a sex worker was emailed to Hui's boss and posted to people in Adelaide. The poster showed an old photograph of Hui and his wife under the headline 'Hong Kong lonely housewife' with a menu of sexual services and prices in Australian dollars.
The letters to Lau's neighbours were posted from Macau, a semi-autonomous Chinese territory near Hong Kong. Lau said she learned of the letters on November 11 when her local MP told her residents had reported them.
Reported impact
Lau said she was 'terrified' and 'shocked' when she learned of the letters, describing them as 'psychological warfare'. She has since moved out of her property and said the 'psychological burden' was the worst aspect, and she remained hesitant to go to Maidenhead, concerned about how widely the images were circulated.
Hui's wife, who is not a public figure, was described by Hui as 'speechless'. This was the first time she had been included in the harassment campaign against her husband.
Index analysis
Lau said the letters represented 'an escalation of transnational repression' where AI or digital tools were used to specifically target women. The incident marks the first time people on the Hong Kong police's bounty list for national security offences have been directly targeted with this kind of explicitly sexualised harassment.
Lau and Hui are both high-profile pro-democracy activists targeted by Hong Kong authorities. In December 2024, Hong Kong police announced bounties of HK$1 million for information leading to their arrest for national security crimes.
Governance controls
Lau said the letters were being investigated by police. Hui reported the poster to police, who said the IP address from which the email was sent could be traced.
A Chinese embassy spokesperson dismissed the allegations, stating 'the story sounds weird' and that it was only Lau's account.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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