All We Know About Jenna Ortega’s Deepfake Controversy (Photo Credit –Instagram)
Advertisement
Similar to several celebrities, Wednesday star Jenna Ortega became another victim of the deepfake controversy last year. Her s*xually explicit pictures went viral to promote Perky AI, an app that uses artificial intelligence to generate fake n*de photos. Ortega’s images appeared in online ads on Facebook and Instagram, but they were withdrawn after NBC News alerted Meta. This had sparked another wave of controversy as it raised questions about why Meta couldn’t protect the images of Ortega.
The Scream actress talked about how her images were used to create AI-generated p*rnographic pictures while she was a minor . However, Ortega was not the first celebrity to face such a disturbing experience due to the misuse of AI image and video generators. In the recent highlights, a lot of public figures like Taylor Swift, Xochitl Gomez, and others’ images have been used to create s*xually explicit deepfakes.
Advertising
Advertising
How Did Jenna Ortega React To Her Deepfake Controversy?
In an interview with The New York Times Jenna Ortega shared how the deepfake controversy left her terrified. She said, “I hate A.I.,” and noted that it “could be used for incredible things.” She further continued, “Did I like being 14 and making a Twitter account because I was supposed to and seeing dirty edited content of me as a child? No. It’s terrifying. It’s corrupt. It’s wrong.” She then explained that when she first opened her Twitter account, she had received an unsolicited picture of a man’s genitals.
She was asked to open an X (previously known as Twitter) account to build an image of herself. But after the massive success of Wednesday in 2022, absurd images and photos started to circulate more than ever. So much so that Jenna Ortega had to delete her account. The actress shared, “It was disgusting, and it made me feel bad. It made me feel uncomfortable. Anyway, that’s why I deleted it, because I couldn’t say anything without seeing something like that. So one day I just woke up, and I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t need this anymore.’ So I dropped it.”
Advertisement
Study Shows AI Deepfakes Are Mostly Targeting Women
As per a study (via CCN), the total number of deepfake videos has increased by 550% between 2019 to 2023. However, among this 98% are explicit s*xual images and 94% is deepfake p*rnography targeting female artists from the entertainment industry. There’s no particular fix to prevent or stop the spreading AI deepfake abuse on social media platforms, which is igniting more concern about the growing pattern that will be easily accessible for public use and might cause damage to the personal and professional lives of women.
Advertisement
In Jenna Ortega’s case, the app Perky AI created an s*xually explicit image and used it to promote their app that claims to be able to undress women using their AI power. The ad was even circulated online, creating more damage as the actress’ picture from when she was 16 was used in it. The ad showed that it could change Ortega’s outfit based on the prompts given on the app – from a Latex costume to Batman underwear to n*ked.
AI deepfakes continue to spark concern among the masses. And while calls for awareness and moderation continue, make sure to be aware of these kinds of apps and report any similar controversy as soon as you notice them.
