Megan The Stallion is the latest celebrity to be targeted by a sexually explicit deepfake that was created without her consent — highlighting just how widespread this form of abuse is becoming.
Deepfakes are videos that often use AI to effectively superimpose someone’s face onto a different body — real or invented — to make it look like they’re doing the same thing as the person in the clip. They can include everything from clips that appear to show a politician giving an interview they’ve never done to sexually suggestive videos that swap people’s faces.
The latter has become an increasingly common form of sexual abuse, with new apps emerging that enable people to create clips of others they know. As Cleo Abrams noted in a Vox video in 2020, “Deepfake’s most pressing threat is not politics. It’s porn.”
Last week, a deepfake sexualized photo of Megan Thee Stallion was featured on X. According to NBC News, the video has garnered hundreds of thousands of views and has been posted by multiple accounts A spokesperson for X also told the outlet that it is now “proactively removing this content,” since its rules “prohibit the sharing of non-consensual intimate media.”
“It’s really sick that you would go out of your way to hurt me when you see me win,” Megan The Stallion wrote in a statement on Saturday X. “Fake going too far, fake ass shit.”
Deepfakes are incredibly damaging to their targets and are difficult to remedy because the damage is already done even if they are removed. Following X Post on Saturday, Megan the stallion was seen getting emotional at a concert And crying while singing “Cobra”. A song that touches on issues related to mental health. (He didn’t admit it on the show.)
Megan Thee Stallion is among a growing list of prominent women who have been victims of such crimes — and who are speaking out against it. His experience underscores the scope of the problem, and that it could harm more people as the tools that enable it become more available.
Deepfakes are a growing form of abuse
Megan Thee Stallion’s experience shows how deepfakes have been weaponized over the past few years, as have other celebrities. Taylor Swift, as well as private individuals. Cybersecurity firm DeepTrace found in 2019, 96 percent of videos are deepfake There was porn on the internet and almost 100 percent of it was of women.
“Deepfake sex videos tell people that their bodies aren’t their own, and that can make it harder to stay online, get or keep a job, and feel safe,” Boston University law professor Daniel Citron said in a DeepTrace report.
Not only are these videos traumatic when they emerge, but the effects can follow women around and affect their reputations and mental health for years. Such abuse, much like so-called revenge porn — a type of abuse that involves posting nude photos of women without their consent — is humiliating and aimed at disempowering them. “Deepfake sexual harassment is usually an attempt to silence women who speak up,” said Clare McGlynn, a law professor at Durham University in the UK. told Glamour.
Earlier, Megan Thee Stallion had already condemned the work of rapper Tory Lanez, who was convicted of shooting him in the leg. He also carried A victim of numerous attacks from men Questioning his story and undermining his experience From the year.
As Vox’s Anna North reports, the prevalence of such deepfakes is expected to increase as AI technology becomes more common and easier to use. In some cases, mobile apps have even allowed high school students to create sexually explicit deepfake photos of their classmates. Online creators also now offer custom deepfakes For those who want to make these videos and pictures of famous stars or their acquaintances.
A related aspect of these laws is the limited means people have to fight them. In the case of Megan the Stallion, X has been active in getting the videos taken down, although that hasn’t always been her view with other celebrities, either. NBC News reports. Additionally, North wrote, federal efforts to pass a law banning such deepfakes are still ongoing, and tech companies need more accountability to truly address the problem.
