Research Finds 138 EU Women MPs Targeted on 160 Deepfake Porn Sites
Updated
Updated · WIRED · Sep 14
Research Finds 138 EU Women MPs Targeted on 160 Deepfake Porn Sites
3 articles · Updated · WIRED · Sep 14
Summary
New research identified at least 147 European politicians on deepfake pornography websites, including 138 women MPs from 22 EU countries and only nine men.
Analysis of roughly 160 domains found some sites hosted explicit fake videos, while others listed MPs’ names, official photos and personal details alongside links to nudifier tools that could generate abuse in a few clicks.
Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and France were hit most, and more senior politicians were more likely to be targeted; the researcher alerted affected MPs and shared removal guidance.
Lawmakers and researchers said the abuse can intimidate women out of public life and damage democratic participation, while the sites operate at scale like businesses built around nonconsensual sexual content.
At least six of the domains in the study have recently gone offline, and the findings add pressure as the EU and UK prepare nudify-service bans after earlier US takedowns cut similar deepfake depictions.