Sexually Explicit Deepfake Sites Target 100-Plus Politicians in Europe

Research published by Agora Digitale Transformation and led by Benjamin Shultz found that roughly 150 politicians across Europe — predominantly women — have been included on around 160 domains hosting deepfake pornography and non-consensual sexual content; at least 138 women MPs from 22 EU countries were identified, with Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and France most affected. The study highlights the gendered nature of the abuse, the reputational and psychological damage to victims, and the chilling effect on women’s participation in public life; affected MPs were notified and given guidance on content removal.