Journalist opens up about being a victim of deep fakes
Jasmine Oak, who is our reporter for Suffolk, shares her experience
A journalist from Suffolk has opened up about the effects of being targeted by manipulated deep fake images shared online without her consent.
Jasmine Oak, who is our reporter for Suffolk, revealed how altered images of her were recently circulated on the internet: "I was just having a look at my comments, then I saw someone had posted an AI-generated photo of me in my underwear.
"It was bizarre. I didn't like seeing it...
"My first thought was panic - my immediate concern was for my job because I didn't want it to spread further and be a big ordeal...
"There was a lot of emotion involved and I didn't know what to do."
"It's not my shame, it's his"
Jasmine says she reported the images to TikTok, which banned the accounts posting the photos.
She also received support from her boss, and the police, who are currently investigating the case.
Our reporter tells us she was inspired to speak out after recent news stories surrounding social media platform X and its AI tool Grok, following reports users have prompted the tool to generate sexualised images of people, including children:
"Once I'd stepped back from all the things that I needed to do; contact TikTok, contact police, contact work, I just sat there and thought 'what a horrible individual'...
"It's not my shame, it's his the poster. He should be ashamed of his behaviour - I've not done anything wrong."
"You have not done anything wrong"
She has this message for anybody else experiencing something similar: "You have not done anything wrong.
"I'm sorry if you went through that. It's not nice, and it does make you feel vulnerable and exposed.
"You worry about what else is out there."
Jasmine also welcomes news that efforts are being made to introduce more safety measures to websites and apps to tackle issues like deep fakes but thinks they should have started sooner: "I think it's good they're trying to catch up, but it's annoying that they're having to catch up, because these companies don't know when the next fire's going to appear."
She says it's also positive that the Government has recently promised to clampdown on tools that create deepfake images: "I'd like to see them collaborate and prevent this.
"Make legislation for AI companies and give them fines.
"Make it so it benefits their pockets not to enable this."
What's next?
The Government has recently promised to clamp down on tools that create deepfake images, whilst media watchdog Ofcom has launched an investigation into whether Elon Musk's social media platform X has breached UK law.
The regulator will investigate whether the platform breached its duties to protect UK users under the Online Safety Act, after calls from MPs to block access to the site.
In response, Mr Musk has accused the UK Government of being "fascist" and trying to curb free speech.
Responding to a post on X claiming the UK arrests more people for social media posts than "any other country on earth", Mr Musk wrote: "Real fascism is arresting thousands of people for social media posts."
Support
If you’re affected by issues raised in this article, there is help available, with a number of specialist organisations offering free, confidential support for content removal and emotional assistance.
These include Childline, Take It Down, Report Harmful Content and The Cyber Helpline.
You can also report the incident to the police.