Deepfake pornography targets female politicians globally
Female politicians across the United States, UK, Italy, and Pakistan are reportedly being targeted with AI-generated deepfake pornography, with researchers noting the non-consensual imagery threatens women's participation in politics and public life. The American Sunlight Project identified over 35,000 instances of deepfake content depicting 26 members of Congress, with nearly one in six female lawmakers affected by such imagery.
What happened
From the United States to Italy, Britain, and Pakistan, female politicians are increasingly becoming victims of AI-generated deepfake pornography or sexualized images. The American Sunlight Project identified more than 35,000 instances of deepfake content depicting 26 members of Congress across pornographic sites, with 25 of them women, and found that nearly one in six women in Congress have been victims of such AI-generated imagery.
In the United Kingdom, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was among more than 30 British female politicians found to be targeted by a deepfake porn website according to a Channel 4 investigation, with the site appearing to use AI technology to 'nudify' about a dozen of those politicians. In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is seeking damages from two men accused of creating deepfake porn videos featuring her and posting them to American porn websites.
Reported impact
The intimate imagery is weaponized to tarnish the reputation of women in the public sphere, jeopardizing their careers, undermining public trust, and threatening national security by creating conditions for blackmail or harassment. Researchers say the non-consensual deepfakes are an assault on women in leadership and threaten women's participation in public life.
Index analysis
An online boom in non-consensual deepfakes is outpacing efforts to regulate the technology globally, with a proliferation of cheap artificial intelligence tools including photo apps digitally undressing women. Researchers call this an expanding cottage industry around AI-enhanced porn where users can turn to widely available AI tools and apps to digitally strip clothing from pictures or generate deepfakes using sexualized text-to-image prompts.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.