The MEP tells how she discovered deepfakes in which she appeared undressed: "I got sick" / 138 women parliamentarians in the EU have been targeted

A MEP tells how she discovered deepfakes in which she appeared undressed: "I was disgusted" / 138 women MEPs in the EU have been targeted Austrian MEP Lena Schilling, a member of the Greens Party, stated that she learned about the existence of false deepfake images in which she appeared naked last month, distributed on the internet. When she accessed the links, she saw images from one of her first press conferences, digitally modified so that her clothes were removed. She asked the European Union to take action after a report showed that one of the six MEPs had been targeted by sexually explicit content generated with the help of artificial intelligence. "I was disgusted. I remember how emotional I was and how much we were preparing for the press conference. And then to see that someone is using this image in a way intended to harm me and embarrass me was very difficult to understand," said Lena Schilling, according to The Guardian. Schilling is one of the 50 MEPs and MEPs, of whom 46 are women, who have been targeted by deepfakes with sexually explicit content, according to a report by Agora Digitale Transformation (ADT). The research institute based in Berlin, which alerted Schilling to the existence of images on the internet, stated that the results show that deepfake pornography has become a "systemic threat to women in European politics". A previous ADT report found that 138 female parliamentarians from 22 countries in the European Union have been targeted by such practices and that women are 33 times more likely than their male colleagues to appear in pornographic deepfake images or be associated with such material. Schilling described these images as a form of "digital violence against women", which adds to the already disproportionate volume of sexist insults, harassment, and violence with which women in politics face. "Such things make entering politics even more difficult than it already is. Imagine what would happen to our society if more and more women disappeared from public life," she added. Schilling stated that she discussed these matters with some of the other targeted MEPs, but they expressed fears about the possibility of speaking publicly about their experiences. "But they have no reason to be ashamed. Someone has used the photos abusively, you have done nothing wrong," she said. This message is found in a letter addressed to the European Union recently initiated by Schilling and the German Green MEP Terry Reintke. Signed by 119 MEPs, the letter asks European officials to ensure that the ban that will come into force at the EU level on December 2nd, targeting applications and websites that use artificial intelligence to digitally undress women, will be accompanied by effective law enforcement mechanisms.