TikTok influencers targetted by deepfake porn that is flooding Twitter

2023-06-17 14:18

Deepfakes are becoming increasingly concerning with many high profilers finding themselves the centre of fake, sinister content. Now, social media has witnessed yet another surge in deepfake porn targeting influencers and celebrities. A deepfake is a digitally altered video or image to depict someone else, often without consent. They're sometimes used with malicious intent or to spread false information from high-profile individuals. A recent report by NBC discovered that a quick Twitter search for Addison Rae Easterling, Charli D’Amelio and Bella Poarch – three of the most-followed TikTokers – returned fake, explicit images and videos on Twitter. This was all in a 24-hour window. One video of an altered Poarch reportedly showed her face edited on a woman's body, which racked up a staggering 21 million views. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Worryingly, this isn't the first time either. Billie Eilish has previously fallen victim to the fake, NSFW tech – which was eventually removed from social media after being viewed 11 million times. A separate incident saw popular Twitch streamer Sweet Anita was horrified to learn her face had been used in X-rated material. "I have never made a single drop of sexual content in my life, but now they just assume that I have and [that] I must want this," she told The Sun, before sharing her concerns for future job opportunities. "It could potentially get you fired from jobs in the future if people think you’ve done sex work. It affects your security [and] how people treat you. You are stigmatised." Cybersecurity expert and What the Hack podcast host Adam Levin told Indy100 that "as long as every party involved is a legal adult, there aren’t very many laws on the books to prevent or punish the distribution of illicit content." He claimed, "It’s nearly impossible to remove any content published online, pornographic or otherwise," before adding: "That said if all the parties are known, there may be legally actionable kinds of deepfake porn content." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Deepfakes are becoming increasingly concerning with many high profilers finding themselves the centre of fake, sinister content. Now, social media has witnessed yet another surge in deepfake porn targeting influencers and celebrities.

A deepfake is a digitally altered video or image to depict someone else, often without consent. They're sometimes used with malicious intent or to spread false information from high-profile individuals.

A recent report by NBC discovered that a quick Twitter search for Addison Rae Easterling, Charli D’Amelio and Bella Poarch – three of the most-followed TikTokers – returned fake, explicit images and videos on Twitter. This was all in a 24-hour window.

One video of an altered Poarch reportedly showed her face edited on a woman's body, which racked up a staggering 21 million views.

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Worryingly, this isn't the first time either.

Billie Eilish has previously fallen victim to the fake, NSFW tech – which was eventually removed from social media after being viewed 11 million times.

A separate incident saw popular Twitch streamer Sweet Anita was horrified to learn her face had been used in X-rated material.

"I have never made a single drop of sexual content in my life, but now they just assume that I have and [that] I must want this," she told The Sun, before sharing her concerns for future job opportunities. "It could potentially get you fired from jobs in the future if people think you’ve done sex work. It affects your security [and] how people treat you. You are stigmatised."

Cybersecurity expert and What the Hack podcast host Adam Levin told Indy100 that "as long as every party involved is a legal adult, there aren’t very many laws on the books to prevent or punish the distribution of illicit content."

He claimed, "It’s nearly impossible to remove any content published online, pornographic or otherwise," before adding: "That said if all the parties are known, there may be legally actionable kinds of deepfake porn content."

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.