The issue of deepfakes persists. Meta platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, allegedly displayed AI-generated ads showing actress Jenna Ortega from the series Wednesday in a compromising way.
According to NBC News, these ads featured a fuzzy image of Ortega at 16 years old, inviting users to digitally alter her outfit, including an option to remove all clothing. These manipulated images were linked to an app called Perky AI, developed by RichAds, which is recognized in Apple’s App Store as a tool that employs AI to create lifelike or fantastical characters with specific directives. This involves generating “NSFW” (not safe for work) content, often of a sexual nature.
What parents need to tell their kids about explicit deepfakes
After NBC’s disclosure, Meta suspended the Perky AI app’s page, which had already displayed 260 different ads on their platforms since September — the advertisements featuring Ortega were active throughout February. While Meta had already suspended 30 ads for not meeting their standards, the ones with Ortega were not among them.
In a statement to Mashable, Meta spokesperson Ryan Daniels stated, “Meta strictly prohibits child nudity, content that sexualizes children, and services offering AI-generated non-consensual nude images. While this app remains widely available on various app stores, we’ve removed these ads and the accounts behind them.”
Perky AI has also been taken down from Apple’s App Store and Google Play (not available on either according to Mashable). Apple mentioned that the app was removed on Feb. 16 after violating their policies against “overtly sexual or pornographic material”.
Mashable has reached out to Apple and Google for further comment.
Deepfakes of Taylor Swift have gone viral. How does this keep happening?
This incident is part of a series of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes spreading online. In the early months of 2024, fake images of celebrities like Taylor Swift and podcast host Bobbi Althoff circulated widely on major social media platforms, including X (previously Twitter). Deepfakes have even made their way into schools, with fabricated nude photos of students appearing at a Beverly Hills middle school and a high school in suburban Seattle.
This issue has reached a critical juncture, with experts emphasizing the urgent need for legal and societal changes. Subsum, an identity verification platform, reported a tenfold increase in deepfake detection between 2022 and 2023. Numerous social media platforms have struggled with controlling such content: Google, X, and Meta have recently faced criticism for allowing deepfake material on their platforms.
If users encounter an inappropriate ad on any platform, there are guidelines available to report them. Meta provides mechanisms to report ads on Facebook or Instagram, while Apple offers community threads for in-app ad reports. Google also facilitates reporting inappropriate ads through a dedicated form.
However, these measures may not be adequate to curb the proliferation of AI-generated content. The significant responsibility falls on big tech companies to combat what appears to be a growing epidemic, particularly targeting girls, women, and marginalized individuals.
If you have experienced sexual abuse and are in the U.S., call the free and confidential National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or access 24/7 online support at online.rainn.org. If intimate images of you have been shared without consent, reach out to the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative’s 24/7 hotline at 844-878-2274 for confidential assistance. The CCRI website provides useful information and international resources.
If you are in the UK and have been a victim of intimate image abuse (revenge porn), contact the Revenge Porn Helpline at 0345 6000 459. For sexual violence survivors in the UK, call the Rape Crisis helpline at 0808 802 9999.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
Celebrities
Meta
Meera is a Culture Reporter at Mashable, joining the UK team in 2021. She writes about digital culture, mental health, big tech, entertainment, and more. Her work has also been published in The New York Times, Vice, Vogue India, and others.
