

How one small town battled a deepfake-porn criminal
7 snips May 1, 2025
Olivia Carville and Margi Murphy, investigative reporters from Bloomberg, delve into a disturbing deepfake-porn scandal affecting young women in Levittown, New York. They discuss the emotional trauma experienced by the victims and highlight the shortcomings of law enforcement in dealing with such digital crimes. The conversation explores the urgent need for legal reforms, particularly the controversial Take It Down Act, which aims to combat non-consensual digital content. Their insights reveal the dark intricacies of generative AI and its potential hazards in society.
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Levittown Deepfake Scandal Emerges
- In 2020, dozens of young women in Levittown, Long Island, found manipulated sexualized deepfake images of themselves online.
- Kayla, a recent graduate, first discovered the disturbing images on a graphic website that ranked users' violent fantasies about her.
Victim Unmasks Deepfake Perpetrator
- The young women felt law enforcement was insufficiently responsive, so one victim took it upon herself to investigate the perpetrator.
- She uncovered key evidence linking the suspect to the abuse by cross-referencing images and locations from posted content and TikTok videos.
AI Deepfake Tools Explode
- Since 2019, AI tools to create deepfake nudes have advanced significantly and become widely accessible.
- "Nudify" apps enable users to undress anyone in an image with one click, accelerating non-consensual sexual imagery proliferation.