Woman discovers deepfake porn created by best friend, labels her sex worker

LONDON: A young man has been arrested for creating and disseminating obscene pictures and videos of a young woman with the assistance of AI technology, posting them on a pornographic website. A friend, Alex (fictitious name), was arrested in connection with the dissemination of deepfake images and videos of Maria Rose (fictitious name), a resident of England. Recently, in an interview with the BBC, Rose disclosed further details.

"I received an email from an address containing a link to a pornographic website. Upon following the link, I found numerous explicit images and videos of myself," Rose recounted. "Many viewers left comments on the site, requesting more content. I was overwhelmed and distressed, not knowing what to do."

Rose also revealed that she had been subjected to cyberattacks since childhood. Additionally, she mentioned instances where her photos were circulated on dating apps. Rose clarified that some people spread rumours that during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was engaged in sex work. Suspecting an ex-boyfriend's involvement in the cyberattacks, Rose and a friend began to investigate further.

Rose shared that a clue to identifying the suspect emerged from a photograph on the website, depicting him and his friend, Alex, at a college in Cambridge. It was later discovered that this image had been manipulated into pornographic content using AI. Upon questioning Alex, the truth emerged, leading to further revelations during the police investigation. It was uncovered that he had circulated images of 15 other women on pornographic websites, in addition to Rose. Subsequently, Alex was arrested and ordered to pay ten pounds (approximately Rs 10,000) as compensation to the victims.