While scrolling through social media one day in late February, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez saw something in the car that would come back to haunt her: a pornographic image depicting a fake digitized version of herself.
The photo showed an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated woman who appeared identical to the Democrat being forced to put her mouth on someone else’s genitals.
The image shook the progressive New Yorker and stuck in her mind all day.
“It’s a shock when you see images of yourself that someone might think are real,” Ocasio-Cortez said Rolling stone. ‘There are certain images that do not leave a person, they cannot leave a person.’
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has been the victim of numerous deepfakes. Some fakes steal her identity to show a pornographic artificial version of her, others candidly show her walking next to Tesla CEO Elon Musk and others smear her with a fake mugshot
“It’s not as imaginary as people make it seem,” she continued.
“It has real, real effects, not just on the people who are affected by it, but also on the people who see it and consume it.”
Deepfakes – artificially generated images that resemble real people – have proliferated over the past two years as AI tools have become cheaper and more widespread.
Deepfake pornography in particular has seen a stratospheric rise in the same period.
According to a 2023 study by Home Security Heroes, a cybersecurity company, deepfake pornography was responsible for 98 percent of all deepfake videos posted online.
Earlier this year, megastar Taylor Swift had an experience similar to Ocasio-Cortez’s when AI-generated deepfake pornography of the pop artist appeared on social media.
The fake adult content spread like wildfire online and quickly racked up millions of views.
Swift’s fans were furious, and reportedly so was the singer and songwriter, who is considering taking legal action against the website that published the deepfake of her.
Inappropriate deepfake images of Ocasio-Cortez circulated online earlier this year
Another deepfake of the Democrat shows her holding hands with a deepfake version of Tesla CEO Elon Musk
Deepfakes parallel, “the same exact intent of physical rape and sexual assault,” Ocasio-Cortez said, adding that it is “about power, domination and humiliation.”
“Deepfakes are definitely a way to digitize violent humiliation against other people.”
“I think it’s so important that people understand that this isn’t just a form of interpersonal violence, it’s not just about the harm done to the victim.”
“Because this technology threatens to do this on a massive scale – this is about class oppression,” she added.
But the manipulated media abuse against Ocasio-Cortez did not just start.
Since she took office in 2019, photoshopped photos, fake voice recordings and fabricated social media posts using her likeness have abounded.
The difference now is that with AI tools, it is easier than ever before to create fake, lifelike images or videos of celebrities, lawmakers, business leaders, and even news anchors doing things they would never do in reality.
So Ocasio-Cortez is working on legislation in the House of Representatives to allow victims of deepfakes to take civil action against the producers and distributors of such despicable content.
“Victims of non-consensual pornographic deepfakes have waited too long for federal legislation to hold perpetrators accountable,” she said in a March statement.
“Now that deepfakes are easier to access and create – 96% of deepfake videos circulating online are non-consensual pornography – Congress must take action to show victims that they will not be left behind.”
“The DEFIANCE Act will allow victims to finally defend their reputations and take civil action against individuals who produced, distributed, or received digital counterfeits,” she continued.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is working with bipartisan support on legislation to give victims of deepfakes the right to sue those who “produced, distributed, or received digital counterfeits.”
The bill would give victims of “digital forgery” the right to sue publishers who forge their likeness “using software, machine learning, artificial intelligence or other computer-generated or technological means.”
If the bill passes both chambers, it would be the first federal law to protect deepfake victims.
The measure also has broad bicameral and bipartisan support, with Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., support it.
However, as Congress faces a host of legislative priorities, such as foreign assistance funding and border security, it is unclear when the DEFIANCE Act will be taken up in the House of Representatives.
“Since the rise of smartphones, people have increasingly relied on the Internet as a proxy for human experiences,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“And so if this becomes the primary medium through which people engage the world, at least in this country, then manipulating that becomes manipulating reality.”