Photo by Cyberslammed
What is old is new again. When Cyberslammed came out in 2012, we already knew about facial technology and how that was going to contribute to cyberbullying in the future.
And now with the emergence of the seemingly harmless Deepfake apps such as Reface, which allow you to "swap" out your face into realistic videos and memes, more trouble is on the horizon.
A Cheerleader Mom, 50, used these deepfake apps to make her daughter's rivals appear "naked, drinking and smoking" in order to get them kicked off the team.
You just KNEW somebody with nefarious intent would misuse these apps, right?
And now with the emergence of the seemingly harmless Deepfake apps such as Reface, which allow you to "swap" out your face into realistic videos and memes, more trouble is on the horizon.
A Cheerleader Mom, 50, used these deepfake apps to make her daughter's rivals appear "naked, drinking and smoking" in order to get them kicked off the team.
You just KNEW somebody with nefarious intent would misuse these apps, right?
Deepfake: (N) a video of a person in which their face or body has been digitally altered so that they appear to be someone else, typically used maliciously or to spread false information.
In this case, the woman used the deepfake video as Videojacking tactic. In Cyberslammed, we categorize the Videojacking cyberbulling tactic as: "When someone videotapes a target without his knowledge/approval and uploads the video to a popular video-sharing websites.
In this case, she didn't even have to videotape anyone. Deepfake technology did all of the work for her. All she needed was a selfie of the students who were her daughters' rivals. And how hard is it to unearth a selfie of a teen these days?
According to The Daily Mail article: "The mom is then accused of anonymously sending the graphic pictures and videos to the coaches of the cheerleading team. She also purportedly sent the doctored images directly to the teenage girls, along with message to one of them urging her to 'kill herself'."
Hmm, where have we seen the "Go Kill Yourself" bullying tactic before? See past blogs on how we've covered this loathsome and cowardly phrase.
What this woman didn't know, (and it's astounding how many cyberbullies don't) is that she left a digital trail of her deeds and it didn't take long for a detective to uncover her IP address.
Parents and teachers, be very aware if your kids are using deepfake apps for "fun." Here's a list of most of the common ones out there.
Talk to your kids about how they can be dangerously misused. And if you have a kid who is the victim of such tactics, read more blogs on Videojacking or buy our book to know how to Understand, Prevent, Combat, and Transform this tactic.
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