‘Looked so real’: How AI is being weaponised against India’s Muslim women - Al Jazeera
Freelance model Samreen Ayoub was targeted by an AI-generated deepfake video that used personal photos to create false, sexualized propaganda
- Incident date
- Jun 2026
- Target
- Samreen Ayoub
In June 2026, freelance model Samreen Ayoub discovered a fabricated video circulating on Instagram that used her personal photographs to create a malicious, life-altering narrative. The video, which utilized AI-generated voiceovers and doctored imagery, falsely accused the 24-year-old of illicit behavior and misidentified her family members in an attempt to damage her reputation. This incident reflects a growing trend of weaponizing generative AI to target Muslim women in India with sexualized propaganda.
What happened
The attack on Ayoub was a sophisticated form of digital stalking that leveraged personal images from her university years, including group projects and selfies. Perpetrators used AI to synthesize a voiceover and headlines, presenting the fabricated content as a legitimate news segment. The video falsely claimed Ayoub was "selling her body" and labeled her brother as a "pimp." The content spread rapidly across social media, as over a dozen accounts posted the video, leading to hundreds of reshares, threatening phone calls, and abusive comments directed at the victim.
Research indicates this is part of a broader, systemic issue. A study by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) analyzed over 1,300 AI-generated images and videos, finding that sexualized depictions of Muslim women generated millions of interactions. Experts suggest that generative AI has lowered the barrier to entry for such harassment, allowing individuals to convert hostile narratives into highly realistic, damaging material with minimal technical expertise. While organizations like the RATI Foundation’s Meri Trustline have documented a significant rise in these cases, many victims remain silent due to the intense shame and trauma associated with the abuse. Scholars describe this as the "pornification of politics," where sexualized imagery is used to normalize abuse and assert communal dominance, turning women’s bodies into battlegrounds for ideological conflict.