Creator of MLA’s deepfake images not found yet
A Stormont politician has said the person who made a false porn video of her has still not been found.
Kara Hunter of the Social Democratic and Labor Party was targeted in a deepfake video three years ago, when her face was digitally superimposed onto another person’s face.
The video was widely circulated on WhatsApp and social media ahead of the 2022 Stormont elections.
A deepfake is an image or video that has been digitally altered with the help of artificial intelligence to replace one person’s face with that of another.
Hunter has since campaigned for a change to the law which would make the creation of deepfake images a criminal offense in Northern Ireland.
Speaking on BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme, the Assembly Member for East Londonderry said that although the Police Service of Northern Ireland was “very sympathetic”, he would not take the case further due to “the lack of proper laws here as well”. Was unable to go. “Lack of investment in cyber crime technology”.
“What’s extremely sad is that it’s now been almost three years since what happened to me and, right now, the same thing could happen again – to any woman, to any child, to any man,” Hunter said.
“There are really horrific uses of this technology and if someone does this to you, you want to know who has that level of anger or rage or resentment toward you that they would do something like that.”
Hunter said that the deepfakes were “extremely credible” and that he still did not know who targeted them.
He appealed for anyone with information to come forward and also called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to invest more in combating cybercrime.
“I’ve looked at the models of other countries, particularly across Europe, and how they approach victims of deepfake technology and they are way ahead of the curve,” he said.
“In Germany, they have AI (artificial intelligence) centers that look at AI innovation but also support people who have been deepfaked and enable them to get guidance and support.
“We don’t have anything like that here.”
She previously told the Belfast Telegraph that the experience was “the most frightening and stressful time of my entire life” and that it still affected her mental health three years later.
Later in January, Hunter will appear in a Channel 4 documentary on the issue with TV presenter Vicky Pattison.
I’m A Celebrity winner and former MTV Geordie Shore star Ms Pattison “directed and produced” a deepfake video featuring herself as part of the documentary.
The DoJ has been contacted for comment.
