The field of politics has become even more complicated for women leaders, and the rise of generative AI poses an even greater risk to female politicians than to men, according to a report released this week.
The analysis, published by the disinformation expert group the American Solar Light Project (ASP) through the 19th On December 11, more than 35,000 pieces of digitally altered non-consensual intimate images (NCII) depicting 26 members of Congress were discovered. The ASP figures, when broken down, describe a stark reality for NCII victims: of those thousands of images, the organization found 25 female politicians represented by AI. Only one man was the subject of such content.
Across the entire study, female members of Congress were 70 times more likely than men to be targets of non-consensual synthetic images, and 1 in 6 members of Congress (or 16 percent) are victims of non-consensual intimate images.
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Leaders across the political spectrum have attempted to address the rise of NCII and AI-generated synthetic images, but have been slow to reach consensus. In January, a bipartisan group of senators introduced the Disrupting Explicit Falsified Images and Nonconsensual Editing Act of 2024 (Challenge Act), aimed at criminalizing the act of spreading sexualized and nonconsensual “digital deepfakes” made with AI. It was approved in July but is still being considered by the House.
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Last week the Senate approved he Take action to eliminate it, introduced by Senator Ted Cruz in June. Similarly, the bill criminalizes the online publication of digitally manipulated deepfakes, but also imposes sanctions on companies that do not remove such content within 48 hours of being reported.
But the gendered reality of AI-powered images cannot be underestimated, especially as women leaders navigate a precarious online environment that puts them at greater risk of sexual abuse. In August, the Center for Countering Digital Hate released a study on the rise of online hate and negative engagement on the social profiles of female politicians. According to an analysis of the Instagram profiles of 10 female headlines, one in 25 comments had a “high probability” of being toxic. Instagram failed to act on 93 percent of reported abusive comments directed at female politicians.
“We need to take into account this new environment and the fact that the Internet has opened up many of these harms that disproportionately affect women and marginalized communities,” said American Sunlight Project founder and author Nina Jankowicz. “My hope here is that members will be forced to act when they recognize that it is not only affecting American women, but it is affecting them as well. It is affecting their own colleagues. And this is happening simply because they are in the public eye”.
ASP informed the offices of the affected politicians, alerting them about AI-generated NCII. The images were almost completely removed after the notice, although the organization did not receive any comment.
If intimate images have been shared with you without your consent, call the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative’s 24/7 hotline at 844-878-2274 for free, confidential assistance. The CCRI website also includes useful information as well as a list of international resources.