A school community in New Jersey was shocked when images of nude female students began circulating at Westfield High School. Even more shocking, someone had actually created pornographic photos using AI images. Sophomore boys allegedly acted suspiciously in mid-October, and the girls took note. When questioned, one boy reportedly told the truth.
Now, families are concerned about how the images could affect the teenage girls' futures.
At least one student is accused of creating the images.
The images reportedly began circulating via text group chats, according to the Wall Street Journal via the New York Post. The mother of a female student told the Journal that her daughter said boys were acting "weird" around October 16.
Female students pressed to find out what was going on, and finally, on October 20, one student spoke up about the photos he had allegedly seen.
Administrators reportedly told some of the girls their photos had been altered.
The AI-created photos are known as "deepfake." According to Merriam-Webster, deepfake is "an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said."
These kinds of images are often used for malicious intent, including blackmail.
Dorota Mani told the Journal that her 14-year-old daughter, Francesca, was a victim of the deepfake scam, and she is worried about how this could follow her around. "I am terrified by how this is going to surface and when. My daughter has a bright future and no one can guarantee this won't impact her professionally, academically or socially."