Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to weaponize deepfake porn of aspiring female leaders in Western Democracies as part of a high-tech effort to destroy their reputations and thwart the system, experts warn.
The Kremlin already has had success using AI-generated porn against female politicians in Ukraine, with the “sick” tactic serving as a method to weaken the West, a US official told The Sun.
“If I was Russia, I would be looking at using deep fake pornography to undermine democracies… to upset the balance of power,” said Nina Jankowicz, the former executive director of the US Homeland Security Department’s disinformation task force. “Targeting women is a great way to do it.”
The intelligence expert pointed out specific examples of how Russia’s “sexualized playbook” has been effectively deployed in the past to stifle women in Western democracies, mainly in Ukraine and Georgia.
Seven years ago, former Ukrainian MP Svitlana Zalishchuk was the victim of a fake post on Twitter that promised she would run through the streets naked if Ukraine lost a key battle against Russia. The post featured AI-generated pictures of the politician.
Months later, during a UN meeting for women, Zalishchuk was grilled by a German reporter about whether she would follow through with the “promise” she made in the fake post.
Two years after the fiasco, Zalishchuk would go on to lose her 2019 re-election bid.
Jankowicz said that Zalishchuk’s story was a clear example of how deep-fake porn can affect women’s political futures, noting that female leaders are likely to suffer the most fervent criticisms and backlash over the false images.
“Russia deploys these in very strategic ways. They tear at the fabric, the vulnerabilities of society, the misogynistic tendencies,” she said.
“If you wanna upset a candidate for office or a high-ranking military official, this is a good way to damage her credibility,” she added. “It’s really pervasive.”
Jankowicz, who herself has been a victim of AI porn, said similar tactics have been deployed in Georgia, where criminal groups in “cahoots with the Kremlin” have published fake sex tapes to undermine female leaders.
“There have been several women who this has happened to who have left public life entirely,” she said.
The misinformation expert claimed that with a proven track record in Eastern Europe, the Kremlin could use the same tactics to root out high-ranking female officials in the West as a means to weaken and undermine the democratic elections.
Jankowicz ultimately warned that as election campaigns in the US, UK, and other countries ramp up this year, voters could be bombarded with AI-generated porn of female candidates.