Rapper Megan Thee Stallion targeted via deepfake: Report

US-based rapper Megan Thee Stallion was recently targeted by a sexually explicit AI-generated deepfake, which has been circulating on social media platforms, as reported by the Indian Express on June 10, 2024.

Some context on this incident

Although without any direct references, the rapper discussed the incident on her X-handle. Subsequently, her tweet received support from fans, who advised her to take legal action against the creators of the deepfake. The video in question had now been viewed more than 30,000 times and was posted to X 18 times, including alongside the video used to create the deepfake, according to an NBC report.

The rapper reportedly broke down during a performance at Amelie Arena on June 8, 2024, in response to an AI-generated explicit video of her circulating on social media platforms such as microblogging site X and TikTok.

According to a report by cybersecurity firm Deeptrace, 96% of online deepfakes contain non-consensual pornography, which can damage a person’s reputation and affect their personal relationships and professional prospects. This problem is compounded by the fact that deepfakes are difficult to distinguish from real content and methods used to detect sexual abuse, especially of children, typically do not work well in detecting deepfakes.

In light of these issues, in May 2024, the White House urged multiple entities to make voluntary commitments to address the spread of non-consensual, AI-generated and real-life sexual images, claiming that image-based abuse disproportionately affects women, girls and LGBTQI+. individuals.

Previous incidents of deepfakes and image-based sexual abuse

In the recent past, non-consensual deepfake pornography has been created to target celebrities, including Taylor Swift, whose deepfake received 47 million views on the microblogging platform X until it was taken down, as reported by the Guardian. Also in India, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued advisories to social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, in November 2023, directing them to remove deepfakes from their sites within a period of 24 hours, a day after deepfakes of actress Rashmika Mandanna started circulating on these platforms.

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