The internet is obviously a super terrifying place and not just because you can do serious online shopping damage at 3 AM when you can’t sleep. There’s a lot of unsavory people and practices lying around the dark recesses of the internet, each one more unsettling then the next.
If you haven’t heard about the creepy world of deepfake yet, consider yourself lucky.
According to the Washington Post deepfake can be described as photoshopped videos that look “deceptively real.”
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People have used deepfake to make innocent and humorous videos, but the overwhelming use of the software is for the sexual exploitation of women.
The Washington Post continued “Supercharged by powerful and widely available artificial-intelligence software developed by Google, these lifelike ‘deepfake’ videos have quickly multiplied across the Internet, blurring the line between truth and lie.”
The ability to manipulate different faces onto different bodies opens a portal for incredibly dangerous content to be created.
Naturally, this has caused major issues in regards to privacy and internet porn regulations.
The latest celeb to speak out about the alarming trend is Scarlett Johansson
Arguably one of the most targeted celebrities for sexual exploitation in Hollywood, Johansson has had her privacy invaded several times, including her nude photos being leaked back in 2011 along with dozens of other female stars.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Johansson discussed the deepfake porn trend and specifically, her own images being used.
“Clearly this doesn’t affect me as much because people assume it’s not actually me in a porno, however demeaning it is. I think it’s a useless pursuit, legally, mostly because the internet is a vast wormhole of darkness that eats itself. There are far more disturbing things on the dark web than this, sadly. I think it’s up to an individual to fight for their own right to the their image, claim damages, etc.”
This deepfake trend is not only effecting women in Hollywood, though.
Videos like these have real life consequences for women who are attacked by people they know in their everyday life, jeopardizing their personal and professional well-beings.
Since Johansson spoke out, Twitter has had conflicting feelings about ScarJo’s comments.
Some people think it’s just a fake video and shouldn’t have real life consequences.
While others believe it shouldn’t go unpunished.
It truly makes us ask to what degree can we police and control the internet?
I think if one thing is for sure, it’s that this kind of sexual exploration needs to be monitored and punished.
Cause it’s gross, and could have a potentially devastating impact on a woman’s livelihood. Let’s all be better than this, internet.
