Councillor 'sickened' by deepfake video abuse - Yahoo

Staffordshire councillor Jill Salt has announced her resignation from public office following a sustained campaign of online abuse, including the creation of sexualized deepfake images and videos. Despite her 12-year tenure in local government, Salt noted that the nature of political discourse has shifted over the past 18 months, becoming increasingly personal and misogynistic in its focus on her appearance.

What happened

The harassment campaign utilized AI technology to map Salt's likeness onto other bodies to generate humiliating content. Specific instances included an image of the councillor holding an ice cream being transformed into a sexualized video and a separate image depicting her with a cartoon body in a bikini. Furthermore, Salt discovered videos on a local Facebook page that used her face and a voice recording featuring offensive lyrics about her body.

Beyond the deepfakes, Salt faced challenges regarding impersonation, as a fake Facebook account was created in her name. When she reported this account and the associated content to Meta, she was initially told the posts did not breach community standards, though they were eventually removed. Meta's official policy states that it allows the removal of content produced by AI or machine learning if it violates existing community standards regarding nudity, hate speech, or other prohibited categories.

While Salt initially reported that her concerns were dismissed by Staffordshire Police, the force has since confirmed it is investigating the matter. The abuse has drawn condemnation from local officials, including Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Ben Adams, who labeled the activity as genuinely harmful and unacceptable. This incident occurs amid a broader rise in reported intimidation against councillors and candidates, prompting the government to establish a defending democracy taskforce. Salt, however, remains skeptical that administrative measures alone will address the cultural shift that has emboldened such targeted online harassment.