It’s been over one week since I released my own deepfake sex tape on X, to raise awareness about deepfakes and AI-image based abuse for my new documentary, Vicky Pattison: My Deepfake Sex Tape. I always knew that it was going to be the most difficult part of the project, and I wrestled with it right up to the last minute. So many thoughts raced through my mind: what if people believe it’s real? How will this affect my relationship?
We’ve been loud in our approach to this topic, and there’s certainly been some criticism to my decision. I was not naive when going into this project about the fact that it would be divisive and I completely understand why some survivors might feel that my decision to create my own deepfake was unnecessary or insensitive. I acknowledge that I was in a place of privilege by being able to control and consent to the project, which is a luxury that isn’t afforded to survivors. Their feelings are valid, and I understand it’s a deeply traumatic issue that everybody will process differently. But this documentary also includes powerful testimonies from survivors and women working tirelessly to change the law, and I hope people see beyond the sex tape and see that we’re putting this on a much bigger stage, making them aware of how big of an issue this is and what changes we desperately need to be made.
Throughout my career, I’ve used my platform to speak out about many issues that affect women, from going to Parliament to talk about the debilitating impact of Premenstrual dysphoric disorder to trekking through the Arctic to raise awareness about women affected by poverty. In the past few years, incidences of deepfake pornography and AI-generated image abuse have skyrocketed, and I felt there was an urgent need to cover the topic with as much impact as I could.
Research published by Anglia Ruskin University last year found there was a growing demand for AI-generated images of child sexual abuse on the dark web. While researching the documentary, I watched a very eye-opening video which was made to raise awareness about the pitfalls of AI and highlighting how people can easily take images of children and create horrifying pornography. As someone who wants to start a family soon, knowing this sort of practice is currently happening is absolutely terrifying.
Meanwhile, nudify and ‘undress’ apps, which use AI to create fake nude images of individuals without their consent, are becoming more popular, and the technology around them is advancing at an alarming rate. In the latest count, there was around 300 undressing and nudify apps. This technology deliberately targets women – it won’t even recognise a male body. One app saw over 600,000 women deep faked in the first 20 days of it launching. This type of abuse does not just affect celebrities. While making the documentary, I met a news reader, a politician, a florist and a 15-year-old girl, who were all survivors of sexually explicit deepfakes. It can affect absolutely anybody.
Aside from the one I created, I was also shocked to discover that explicit sexually driven content of me already existed online. Like so many women, my immediate reaction was to blame myself. I thought maybe if I hadn’t posted pictures of myself in a bikini, or done sexy photoshoots when I was younger, this wouldn’t have happened. But this just shows how deep this type of conditioning goes. I’ve heard survivors say: ‘what if I didn’t wear make up? What if I hadn’t had my hair down?’ But we need to shift that blame away from women, and onto the men who commit this heinous abuse. It was horrifying to see, but it’s made me more determined than ever to keep talking about this topic.
Ultimately, my goal is for this documentary to drive a change in legislation. I worked with Baroness Charlotte Owen, who has introduced a private members bill to criminalise the creation and solicitation of sexually explicit digital forgeries, or deepfakes, without consent. The government initially said they wouldn’t introduce a private members bill, but she has kept pushing. It was discussed again in Parliament yesterday, thanks to her tireless efforts.
I have hope for the future. With so many powerful women already speaking out deepfakes and AI-based abuse, between us we will make enough noise that we can’t be ignored.
As told to Alice Hall
Vicky Pattison: My Deepfake Sex Tape is available to watch and stream on Channel 4 now