Channel 4 has faced backlash from survivors of AI deepfake pornography for using the same technology in the new documentary, Vicky Pattison: My Deepfake Sex Tape.
Pattison released an AI-generated explicit clip ahead of the documentary, which showed her face superimposed onto a performer taking part in a sex act.
The former Geordie Shore directed and produced the footage and released it to show how the content spreads online and how these images and videos are taken down.
The video was aired on X despite victims of online image abuse “strongly advising” against it when producers approached them to consult on the documentary, according to The Guardian.
Survivor Jodie, 23, told the outlet that the decision to use the deepfake footage of Pattison “lacked compassion” and was in “poor taste”.
“Survivor organisations strongly advised against it when they were approached by producers. So it’s just in really, really poor taste that they sought out advice and then ignored it completely,” she told The Guardian.
She continued: “I don’t think that someone that really intricately understood the effect of this abuse on someone would do this if they actually had compassion for the survivors.”
Jodie’s Instagram photos were sent by her friend to an Incel forum where they were turned into pornographic images.
She added to The Sun: “We have been campaigning tirelessly for a consent-based law to criminalise deepfake abuse, but this PR stunt fuels harmful narratives.”
Victims of the deepfake technology claimed releasing an explicit AI video would drive more traffic to the kinds of sites they were trying to shut down.
One campaigner, whose group was involved in the initial research stages of the documentary, told The Guardian: “You wouldn’t go and do a documentary where you get into a physically violent and abusive relationship to experience how it feels.
“So why is it acceptable as a premise for a documentary to do this with online harm?”
Channel 4 said in a statement to The Standard: “The documentary hears directly from victims of image-based abuse, to ensure that victim’s stories are at the forefront of the purpose of the programme.
“In doing so, audiences will see first-hand testimony from those who have lived through this issue, thus raising the profile of the problem and the ways in which we must support victims, through better processes enforced on tech companies, government legislation, better education and activism.”
Regarding Pattison’s deepfake video, the spokesperson added: “Vicky aims to demonstrate how simple it is to create explicit deepfake content and raise awareness of how accessible this content is and how it can proliferate online.
“She also wanted to experience, as closely as possible, the feelings, vulnerabilities and concerns that arise when one becomes a victim of deepfake porn.
“The documentary recreates this, in a controlled environment, to exemplify the ease with which this kind of content can spread online and to raise awareness by demonstrating actions people can take should they find themselves a victim of this crime. The choice to make original footage ensures that everyone involved was able to fully consent from the outset.”
