One day in late February, while scrolling through social media while in the car, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez saw something that would haunt her: a pornographic image showing a fake digitized version of herself.
The photo showed an artificial intelligence (AI) woman who looked identical to the Democrat being forced to put her mouth on another person’s genitals.
The image shook the progressive New Yorker and stayed in her head all day.
“It’s shocking to see images of yourself that someone might think are real,” Ocasio-Cortez said. Rolling Stone. “There are certain images that do not abandon a person, cannot abandon a person.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has been the victim of countless deepfakes. Some fakes of her steal her identity to show an artificial pornographic version of her, others show her walking candidly next to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and others smear her with a fake mugshot.
“It’s not as imaginary as people want it to seem,” he continued.
“It has real, real effects, not only on the people who are victims of it, but also on the people who see it and consume it.”
Deepfakes (artificially generated images that appear to be real humans) have proliferated in the past two years as artificial intelligence tools have become cheaper and more widespread.
Deepfake porn specifically has seen a stratospheric rise in that same time period.
In fact, deepfake pornography accounted for 98 percent of all deepfake videos posted online, according to a 2023 study by Home Security Heroes, a cybersecurity company.
Earlier this year, megastar Taylor Swift had a similar experience to Ocasio-Cortez when the pop artist’s AI-generated deepfake pornography began appearing on social media.
Fake adult content spread like wildfire online and quickly racked up millions of views.
Swift’s fans were outraged, and apparently so was the singer-songwriter, who considered legal action against the website that published her deepfake.
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 are parallel, “the exact same intent of physical rape and sexual assault,” Ocasio-Cortez said, adding that it’s about “power, domination and humiliation.”
“Deepfakes are absolutely a way to digitize violent humiliation against other people.”
“For me it is very important that people understand that this is not just a form of interpersonal violence, it is not just about the harm that is done to the victim.”
“Because this technology threatens to do so on a large scale, this is class subjugation,” he added.
But the manipulated media abuse against Ocasio-Cortez has not just begun.
Since he first took office in 2019, Photoshopped images, fake voice recordings and fabricated social media posts using his likeness have abounded.
The difference now is that, with AI tools, it’s easier than ever to create fake, realistic images or videos of celebrities, lawmakers, business executives, and even news anchors doing things they would never actually do.
That’s why Ocasio-Cortez is crafting legislation in the House to allow victims of deepfakes to take civil action against the producers and distributors of such vile content.
“Victims of non-consensual pornographic deepfakes have waited too long for federal legislation to hold perpetrators accountable,” he said in a March statement.
“As deepfakes become easier to access and create (96% of deepfake videos circulating online are non-consensual pornography), Congress must act 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 people who produced, distributed or received digital counterfeits,” he continued.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is working on legislation with bipartisan support to give victims of deepfakes the right to sue those who “produced, distributed, or received digital deepfakes.”
The bill would create a right for victims of “digital forgery” to sue publishers who falsify their image “using software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or any other technological or computer-generated means.”
If the bill passes both chambers, it would be the first federal law that would protect deepfake victims.
The measure also has broad bicameral and bipartisan support, with the backing of Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, R-Tenn., and Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
However, with Congress facing a host of legislative priorities, such as foreign aid funding and border security, it is unclear when the DEFIANCE Act will be taken up in the House.
“Since the advent of smartphones, people have increasingly relied on the Internet as a substitute for the human experience,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“And if this becomes the primary means by which people interact with the world, at least in this country, then manipulating it becomes a manipulative reality.”