Northern Ireland MLA Cara Hunter targeted by deepfake pornography weeks before 2022 Assembly election

Summary

In April 2022, three weeks before the Northern Ireland Assembly election, SDLP MLA Cara Hunter discovered that a fabricated pornographic video depicting her likeness had been shared tens of thousands of times via WhatsApp. Hunter was defending her East Londonderry seat when the video circulated. She received vulgar messages and was harassed on the street by a man who referenced the video. Police were unable to trace the origins due to WhatsApp's encryption. Approximately six months later she was targeted by at least 15 additional AI-generated deepfake images. Hunter has since campaigned internationally for legislation criminalising deepfake sexual abuse material, given the incident's likely effect on her election results and the profound personal harm caused.