Bobbi Althoff found herself at the center of a disturbing trend on social media. Trending on X, formerly known as Twitter, Althoff discovered that explicit and NSFW AI-generated images and videos falsely portraying her were circulating widely on the platform.
Taking to her Instagram Stories, Althoff expressed her dismay at the situation. “Yesterday I went on X, Twitter, and I saw that I was trending. And I was like, ‘Oh my God. That’s a first, I’m trending on Twitter. You guys must really love my podcast. Wow,’” she shared in a video. Althoff, initially thinking it was a mistake, soon realized the severity of the situation as her team reached out to verify the authenticity of the content.
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In a response video, Althoff clarified that the explicit content was not genuine. “Hate to disappoint you all, but the reason I’m trending is 100% not me & is definitely AI generated,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories. The disturbing part was not just the existence of these deepfakes but the ease with which they spread across social media platforms.
The explicit content was disseminated by an army of bot accounts, duping real people into believing it was authentic. A censored version of the content, shared in a viral tweet, prompted concerns about the moderation issues on X since Elon Musk’s takeover. The incident raises questions about the platform’s ability to combat the rapid spread of deepfake content.
This disturbing episode also sheds light on the broader dangers that AI technology poses, particularly to women. The ability to create maliciously fake nude content with relative ease poses a serious threat to individuals’ privacy and reputation.
Althoff’s experience echoes a similar incident involving Taylor Swift just last month, emphasizing the urgent need for improved moderation and countermeasures against the rising tide of AI-generated harassment. As technology advances, so too must our efforts to protect individuals from the malicious use of deepfake technology in the online space.
