Creator of fake video of MLA Cara Hunter has not been found
A Stormont politician says the person who made her fake pornographic video has yet to be found.
Three years ago, Cara Hunter of the Social Democrats and Labour, was the target of a deepfake video in which her face was digitally superimposed onto another person’s.
The video was widely shared on WhatsApp and social media in the run-up to the 2022 Stormont election.
Deepfakes are the digital modification of images or videos with the help of artificial intelligence, replacing one person’s face with that of another.
Hunt has since campaigned to change the law to criminalize the creation of deepfake images in Northern Ireland.
Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme, the East Londonderry MP said that while the Police Service of Northern Ireland was “very sympathetic”, it was because of “the lack of proper laws here and the lack of proper laws”. , so the matter cannot be processed further. Lack of investment in cybercrime technology”.
“It’s very sad that it’s been almost three years since what happened to me and now the same thing could happen again to any woman, to any child, to any man,” Hunter said.
“The uses of this technology are really sinister and if someone did this to you, you wonder who has such a level of anger or anxiety or resentment towards you that they would do something like this.”
Hunter added that the deepfakes were “very convincing,” but she still doesn’t know who targeted her.
She called on anyone with information to come forward and called on the Department of Justice (DoJ) to step up efforts to combat cybercrime.
“I looked at the models of other countries, especially across Europe, and how they treated victims of deepfake technology, and they were way ahead of the curve,” she said.
“In Germany, they have the Center for Artificial Intelligence, which not only focuses on AI innovation, but also provides support for people who have been caught in deepfakes so they can get guidance and support.
“We don’t have anything like that here.”
She previously told the Belfast Telegraph that the experience was “the most terrifying and stressful moment of my life” and that it was still affecting her mental health three years later.
Later in January, Hunt will appear in a Channel 4 documentary about the issue, alongside TV presenter Vicky Pattison.
I’m a Celebrity winner and former MTV Geordie Shore star Ms Pattison “directed and produced” a deepfake video of herself as part of a documentary.
The Department of Justice has been contacted for response.
