Naked ‘deepfake’ photos of thousands of women shared online
Fake nude images of more than 100,000 women have been created from their images on social media and shared online, finds a new report
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A bot on the messaging app Telegram was able to create “deepfake” nudes of more than 100,000 women by taking their images from social media, new research has found.
The manipulated images were then spread to other users on the Telegram app, according to an investigation carried out by Sensity AI, a company that specialises in detecting deepfakes and other forms of “malicious visual media”.
The report assessed images shared in public up to the end of July 2020, and noted that some of the targets “appeared to be underage”.
In a 12-page report seen by The Independent, the company outlined how a new “deepfake ecosystem” evolved on Telegram using an “AI-powered bot that allows users to photo-realistically ‘strip naked’ clothed images of women.”
The research revealed that anyone can send the bot a photo through the Telegram mobile or web app and receive a nude back within minutes. The “service” is free, though users can pay a base of 100 rubles (approximately $1.50) for perks such as removing the watermark on the “stripped” photos or skipping the processing queue, said the report.
Sensity AI highlighted a strong geographical skew among users in these channels, with roughly 70 per cent coming from Russia and neighbouring countries, and that the primary targets were women from Argentina, Italy, Russia and the US.
While deepfakes have previously been used mainly on celebrities and politicians, Sensity’s poll of the Telegram bot’s users found 63 per cent were primarily “interested to undress” women they “know in real life".
The findings also alluded to the broader threats that the bot presented. “Specifically, individuals’ stripped images can be shared in private or public channels beyond Telegram as part of public shaming or extortion based attacks,” the authors said.
Sensity said that it has disclosed the findings to Telegram but has so far not received a response from them. It said it has also contacted relevant law enforcement agencies.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments