Gráinne Seoige to make TV documentary on scourge of sexualised deepfake images
Broadcaster Gráinne Seoige is making a television documentary about the prevalence of sexualised deepfake images online.
The An Spidéal native was the victim of an AI-generated pornographic image that circulated on WhatsApp when she was a Fianna Fáil Galway West candidate in the 2024 General Election.
Ms Seoige previously spoke about her experience with this type of abuse at an Oireachtas Media Committee, and in various media, last year.
Now she has announced that she has teamed up with Virgin Media Television to make a documentary.
“An AI-generated pornographic image of me was created and circulated on WhatsApp in late 2024. I don't know who made it, I don't know how many people saw it but I do know it was done to cause me harm and I also know it's still out there, it still exists on people's phones,” said Ms Seoige in a video on Instagram.
“Anything you share will be treated with sensitivity and confidence”
She said she knows it is happening to other people, too. “It is happening to women, it is happening to teenagers, and it is happening to children all over the country,” she said.
As well as looking at the problem of deepfakes or sharing real images without consent, the programme will delve into the “culture that turns a serious harm into a bit of craic, into scandal or simply entertainment and in doing so actually compounds the harm”.
Ms Seoige has appealed for victims or parents of child victims to get involved in the programme.
“Anything you share will be treated with sensitivity and confidence,” she said.