Study finds 138 female European MPs targeted by deepfake porn sites, only 9 men affected
New research by Benjamin Shultz, published by think tank Agora Digitale Transformation, analyzed about 160 websites hosting nonconsensual deepfake sexual content and found 138 women members of parliament from 22 EU countries were referenced or depicted, compared with just nine men. The study covered over 5,800 national lawmakers across the EU, with politicians from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and France most frequently appearing.
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The findings quantify a stark gender gap in deepfake abuse, showing women in public office face vastly disproportionate risk of sexualized digital harassment designed to intimidate and discredit them. As AI tools make fake explicit content easier to produce, this kind of targeted abuse threatens to discourage women from entering or staying in politics, raising urgent questions about platform accountability and legal protections across Europe.
- 138 female MPs across 22 EU countries appeared on deepfake abuse sites versus only 9 male MPs
- Women lawmakers are roughly 33 times more likely than men to be targeted
- Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and France had the highest number of affected politicians
Source: wired.com — Matt Burgess, 2026-09-14
Published there as: “Sexually Explicit Deepfake Sites Target 100-Plus Politicians in Europe”
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