Deepfakes and Harm to Women PDF

Journal of Digital Life and Learning 2023, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-21 DOI: 10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218 Deepfakes and Harm to Women JENNIFER LAFFIER1, AALYIA REHMAN1 1...

Journal of Digital Life and Learning 2023, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-21 DOI: 10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218 Deepfakes and Harm to Women JENNIFER LAFFIER1, AALYIA REHMAN1 1 Ontario Tech University Abstract As deepfake technologies become more sophisticated and accessible to the broader online community, their use puts women participating in digital spaces at increased risk of experiencing violence online and abuse. In a ‘post-truth’ era, the ability to discern what is real and what is fake allows malevolent actors to manipulate public opinion or ruin the social reputation of individuals to wider audiences. While the scholarly research on the topic is sparse, this study explored the harm women have experienced in technology and deepfakes. Results of the study suggest that deepfakes are a relatively new method to deploy gender-based violence and erode women’s autonomy in their on-and-offline world. This study highlights the unique harms for women that are felt on both an individual and systemic level and the necessity for further inquiry into online harm through deepfakes and victims’ experiences. Keywords: Deepfakes, Women, Synthetic media, Image-based abuse, Harm INTRODUCTION O ver the past 20 years, gender-based violence has increased, affecting one in three women in their lifetime (The World Bank, 2019; World Health Organization, 2014). Violence against women refers to a myriad of gendered-based acts almost exclusively directed at women and girls that can cause direct or indirect harm over their lifespan. The World Health Organization (2014) describes violence against women as, An act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life. (para. 1) While rates of police-reported gendered violence have decreased in Canada, nearly 70% of violence remains unreported to the police and women continue to live at greater risk for domestic violence, sexual assault, and harassment (Department of Justice Canada, 2019). Demonstrations of harm and abuse include physical aggression, psychological violence, neglect, and control over speech and actions. In severe instances, these acts may result in death (Dawson et al., 2020). Given the secondary status of women within families, states, and societies, it is not uncommon for gendered violence to be observed as ordinary or, in some cases, socially sanctioned (Kishore, 2011; -1- Journal of Digital Life and Learning 2023, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-21 DOI: 10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218 The World Bank, 2017). While subordination may not be the perpetrator’s motivation, it may result as an indirect consequence of their actions (Namy et al., 2017). These actions may remain concealed by victims in fear of being further attacked or violated. Thus, violence against women is not only rooted in sex inequalities present in one’s social world but also serves as a mechanism to sustain unequal powers and reinforce the status of vulnerability that fuels the abuse (Kaur & Garg, 2009; Namy et al., 2017; Vyas & Jansen, 2018). The advent of technology has allowed new mechanisms of gender-based violence to emerge that may allow users to inflict harm against women through online hate and cyberviolence. While individuals of all genders experience technology-facilitated abuse, the Canadian Women’s Foundation (2019) has indicated that women are at heightened risk of experiencing online violence, harassment, and sexualised abuse. Research on technology-facilitated abuse has shown that digital technologies are used routinely for online stalking, impersonation, harassment, and abuse, sometimes under a concealed identity (Duggan, 2017; Vogels, 2021). Scholars have raised concerns over the growing use of technology; a diverse range of sophisticated tools to abuse, control, and intimidate victims are widely accessible within the digital field – often free of cost (Albahar & Almalki, 2019). Progress in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), specifically machine learning, has allowed users to readily create altered media content online, amassing large and often global audiences in on-and-offline spaces (Kreps, 2020). Amongst these advancements is the emergence of deepfake technology, henceforth referred to as deepfakes. Broadly, deepfakes are machine learning-based software tools that produce realistic synthetic media content. Deepfakes replace the likeness of one individual with another, making the target individual appear to say things or perform actions that the source individual does (Albahar & Almalki, 2019; Nguyen et al., 2019). The generative adversarial networks (GANs) had been mainly restricted to the AI research community until 2017, when a Reddit user, using the anonymous handle Deepfakes, began posting digitally altered pornographic videos through a free, open-source machine learning software (Schwartz, 2018). The Reddit user built GANs to superimpose celebrities’ faces on adult film stars for pornographic purposes (Spivak, 2018). In 2023, Twitch streamer Brandon "Atrioc" Ewing's inadvertent disclosure of his previously viewed deepfake pornography of well-known female Twitch streamers further highlighted this problem (Mercante, 2023). This incident exposed the creators' exploitation of women's deepfakes for profit, as Ewing had inadvertently revealed the pay-to-view subscription site that hosted such content to his live audience (Mercante, 2023). In recent years, the use of deepfakes has risen in popularity due to the quality of synthetic media content and the ease of their applications for users with limited or sophisticated computer skills (Chesney & Citron, 2019a). Although deepfakes can be produced with the approval of the featured individuals, they are commonly created without consent. New developments have allowed for sophisticated deepfake videos to be produced with a still image, permitting any digital human trace to be fabricated and further threatening privacy (Galston, 2020). Moreover, in a post-truth era, deepfakes are often utilised with malicious intent to influence popular beliefs or damage the -2- Journal of Digital Life and Learning 2023, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-21 DOI: 10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218 reputation of individuals (Bayer et al., 2019; Westerlund, 2019). The sophistication of deepfakes is anticipated to pose a significant challenge in maintaining their credibility, which may result in negative consequences for vulnerable groups in both their online and offline lives (Strömbäck et al., 2020). Deepfakes can be a unique instrument for technology abuse and violence against women (Chesney & Citron, 2019a, 2019b). However, the impact on deepfake victims, particularly women, remains unclear and understudied (Chesney & Citron, 2019a). The lives of individuals in both the digital and physical realms are not perceived as distinct entities, but are rather interconnected, such that actions taken in one sphere can carry considerable repercussions in the other. The purpose of this review is to explore the harms experienced by women through technology and deepfakes. METHODOLOGY The researchers of this review examined the literature exploring the harms women have experienced through technology and deepfakes. A narrative review was conducted, as it allows for descriptive and critical investigation without simplifying results into standard metrics (Greenhalgh et al., 2018). This review involves emerging scholarly literature, news and media articles, and peer- reviewed studies from technological sectors that may provide insight into the characteristics of threats brought forth by digital technologies and deepfakes. A search was conducted for scholarly literature and peer-reviewed articles on Google Scholar and in the Omni database. Google search engine was used to scan news and web articles exploring cases of deepfake and deepfake technology. Searches included the following search terms (with Boolean operations): cyber, gendered image-based, video-based, media, abuse, harassment, threats, bullying, cyber, online, deepfakes, harm, threats, and synthetic. These search terms were informed by the focus of the research, which was to explore the harms experienced by women in technology and deepfakes. The researchers selected search terms that were relevant to this topic, and which could provide insight into the characteristics of threats brought forth by digital technologies and deepfakes. For example, the terms "gendered image-based" and "video-based" were included to capture the specific types of deepfake content that are often used to harm women. The terms "abuse," "harassment," "threats," and "bullying" were included to capture the various ways in which women can be harmed online. The terms "cyber," "online," and "media" were included to capture the different types of platforms and technologies that are used to spread harmful content. The terms "deepfakes," "harm," and "synthetic" were included to specifically capture content related to deepfakes and their potential harm to women. By combining these search terms using Boolean operators, the researchers were able to generate a comprehensive list of articles that addressed the specific issues of interest. Data extraction should be relevant to the review question, and thus results were further filtered according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria (Popay et al., 2006). The inclusion criteria for this study included literature and articles that focused on technology's role in online abuse and women, were written in English, and published between 2001-2022. Exclusion criteria for this study included: non-English language articles, articles not focused on technology's role in online abuse and women, articles published before 2001, and articles that are not accessible to the -3- Journal of Digital Life and Learning 2023, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-21 DOI: 10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218 researchers. Various terms were used to describe cyber abuse within the literature, including cyber- bullying, victimisation, and harassment (Grigg, 2010). Thus, cyber abuse was used as the superset term to reference intentional digital harm or threats or harassment or bullying or stalking through electronic and digital media through forms of media to which an individual feels uncomfortable, threatened, or abused. Eighty-five sources satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and ten examined specific cases of five deepfake victims. The data was collected and inputted in an Excel matrix to be further examined, coded for emergent themes, and analysed through qualitative content analysis to identify the types of abuse and threats posed by digital technologies and deepfakes. Qualitative content analysis can be used as a data reduction method to identify fundamental patterns and interpretations that arise from text or images, enabling researchers to gain a more scientific understanding of social reality (Zhang & Wildemuth, 2009). Qualitative content analysis aims to systematically convert larger quantities of data into highly organised and effective results (Erlingsson & Brysiewicz, 2017). Following Juntenen and Lehenkari (2021), the researchers of this study began by reading and revising literature from the data collection. Next, information relevant to the aim of this review was systematically extracted. Three analytical questions were developed as researchers read and discussed the literature together: 1. What type of harm was inflicted by technology? 2. How was this technology used, and what was the impact? 3. How has harm disrupted participatory on-and-offline behaviours? These questions aided in maintaining focus on the purpose of the review. Responses to the questions mentioned above were found across the literature and aided the synthesis of the research collection. The data collected in the Excel matrix were then reviewed for recurring inductive themes and presented in the following section. Lastly, interpretation was conducted through abstraction, based on discussions between the researchers on results related to other gendered cyber-abuse research. These interpretations are presented in the discussion section. Given the recent emergence of deepfake technologies and threats examining individual accounts, there is the likelihood that the researchers did not observe literature that may have fit the study's selection criteria. In the preliminary search, some publications provided fragmentary insights into the theme and questions guiding the analysis. Only literature and media articles primarily focusing on the gendered issues related to cyber abuse, deepfakes, their characteristics, and their harms were presented to preserve sources at a feasible quantity and increase the efficiency of the review process. Despite these limitations, the researchers are confident this review is representative of the literature exploring gendered cyber abuse in the digital age. LITERATURE REVIEW -4- Journal of Digital Life and Learning 2023, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-21 DOI: 10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218 This literature review examines the harm women have experienced through technology and deepfakes. This review begins with a brief introduction to cyber abuse of women. Next, literature exploring image-based sexual abuse in women is explored. Lastly, deepfakes and related harm are presented. Cyber Abuse in Women Willard (2005) defines abuse within cyberspace as the “intent to consistently harass another to harm via any electronic method, including social media, and includes defamation, public disclosure of private information, and intentional emotional distress” (p. 1). Citron (2014) states, “threats of violence, privacy invasions, reputation harming lies, calls for strangers to harm victims physically and technological attacks” (p. 3) are volitional, not simply innocuous commentary. Cyber abuse may manifest directly or indirectly (Langos, 2012). Direct cyber abuse may occur exclusively between the perpetrator and the victim. In contrast, indirect cyber abuse can occur when the perpetrator participates in the online space, posting content about the victim in various social formats that are accessible to larger audiences (Langos, 2012). Within these contexts, cyber- abuse components include harassment, repetition, power differential, and aggression/intention (Watts et al., 2017). However, some researchers do not consider the repetitive aspect as essential to the definition of cyber abuse (Grigg, 2010). Abuse within cyberspace features unique qualities that magnify inflicted harm and make it increasingly difficult to detect (Vaillancourt et al., 2017). The globalised nature of digital technologies allows malicious content to be created anonymously and circulated across the internet rapidly reaching global audiences (Vaillancourt et al., 2017). More than half of victims do not know the identity of their perpetrator, further contributing to increased fear, distress, and powerlessness in cyber victims (Dennehy et al., 2020; Dooley et al., 2009; Kowalski & Limber, 2007). Compared to men, women were three times more likely to face various forms of abuse online (i.e., online harassment, threats, sexualization, stalking) and more than two times more likely to experience severe forms of abuse (i.e., doxing, revenge porn, threats of physical harm; Veletsianos et al., 2018). Eckert (2018) found that young women were significantly affected, and the abuse had taken an emotionally significant toll. Barak (2005) states that “gender harassment in cyberspace is very common” (p. 78), through which cyber worlds become charged with diverse modes of abuse and violence against women (Poland, 2016; Veletsianos et al., 2018). Feminist scholars have argued that cyber abuse echoes broader cultural and societal understandings presented within one’s on-and-offline worlds regarding gender and status (Jane, 2016; Nadim & Fladmoe, 2019). Nadim and Fladmoe (2019) refer to gendered cyber abuse as offline misogyny evolving into social sectors. According to Jane (2014), gendered cyber abuse rests upon misogynistic practices that insist on women’s inferiority. Inflicted abuse of women is an attempt to reassert the ordained power structures of men when they feel threatened by the loss of their relative position (Bareket & Shnabel, 2020; Berdahl, 2007). Thus, the act of abuse against women is intended to restore and reinforce differences between gender (Nadim & Fladmoe, 2019). -5- Journal of Digital Life and Learning 2023, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-21 DOI: 10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218 Sexism, misogyny, and abuse are apparent within cyberspace, and new media forms can further exacerbate and complicate outcomes surrounding abuse and violence (Abidin, 2013; Abrahams, 2017; Mantilla, 2013; Megarry, 2014; Piner, 2016; Rivers, 2017). Veletsianos et al. (2018) indicated that identifying as a woman online increases the risk of intentional abuse. The risk of cyber abuse is even greater for women in the public sphere or working within the digital space (Sobieraj, 2018). The most prominent forms of cyber abuse displayed and encountered by women were found to be slut-shaming, rape threats, death threats, and doxing (Gosse, 2022; Mantilla, 2013; Piner, 2016). In addition to the ill-psychological symptoms and distress brought forth by cyber abuse, women respond by self-censoring their presence online and withdrawing from the digital world (Citron, 2014; Vitak et al., 2017). Amnesty International (2017) has investigated the effects of abuse against women on social media platforms, specifically concerning how they act online after abusive incidents. Their study found that abuse created the silencing effect, whereby women feel discouraged when participating online. A report by Gender, Women and Democracy (2017) provides further illumination on the impacts silencing and censoring has on women victimised by online abuse, stating: By silencing and excluding the voices of women and other marginalized groups, online harassment fundamentally challenges both women’s political engagement and the integrity of the information space. … In these circumstances, women judge that the costs and danger of participation outweigh the benefits and withdraw from or choose not to enter the political arena at all. (p. 14) Vera-Gray (2017) argues that, with online usage by women and “the continual development of new tools for online social networking” (p. 5), more significant instances of cyber abuse can occur. Victims of cyber abuse are often left fearful of their continued online use with limited opportunities to pursue justice. For those wishing to pursue legal action, victims may lose time and pay from work, their reputation, and their employability due to online posts (Citron, 2014). The extent to which perpetrators persecute and damage women online infringe on their offline worlds, threatening the safety of these victims within physical, social, psychological, and financial sectors (Hess, 2014). Image-Based Sexual Abuse in Women The discourse on technology's role in cyber abuse has primarily concentrated on image- based sexual abuse (IBSA) or the exploitation of intimate content (Powell & Henry, 2017). IBSA refers to the act or threat of distributing intimate content without the consent of the targeted individual (Sparks, 2021). While anyone can be the target of IBSA, research suggests women are more likely to be victimised by IBSA, whereas men are more commonly the perpetrators (Powell et al., 2018). The most frequent forms of online creation and distribution are social media, email, and mobile messages (Silver et al., 2019). Henry and colleagues (2017) suggest that the growing concerns with IBSA and new technologies can be attributed to the ease with which harmful media -6- Journal of Digital Life and Learning 2023, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-21 DOI: 10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218 can be generated, shared, and downloaded, the permanence of generated content in online spaces, and the variety of accessible software and tools across multiple platforms. Efforts to normalise and popularise IBSA can be traced back to 2010 with the creation of IsAnyoneUp.com, a website that showcased stolen and hacked pornographic media (Henry & Flynn, 2019). Internet users were encouraged by the site's creator, Hunter Moore, and site viewers to anonymously submit non-consensual content of women, as well as share personal and identifying information (i.e., victim's social media accounts, name, occupation, and address; Henry & Flynn, 2019). Following an influx of media attention and legal actions by victims, Hunter Moore was prosecuted and found guilty of extortion and identity theft (Citron & Franks, 2014). Few large- scale research studies have examined the dissemination and outcomes of IBSA, yet more than 3000 websites are dedicated to the submission of non-consensual sexual media content (Powell & Henry, 2019). While these websites host images of women and sometimes men, images of women are more commonly viewed, commented on, and shared (Powell & Henry, 2019). The evidence on prevalence implies high levels of abuse and a gendered impact (Powell & Henry, 2019). With recent advancements in modern digital technologies, it is projected that non-consensual sharing and threats will continue to increase due to the feasibility of new assaults (Dodge & Johnstone, 2018). Specifically, AI tools and deepfake applications make it easier for perpetrators to anonymously engage in abusive non-consensual behaviour on various platforms without impunity for their actions (United States Department of Homeland Security, 2019; Westerlund, 2019). ISBA victims are reported to have significant feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, psychological distress, and social disruption (O'Malley & Holt, 2022). Bates (2017) reported that women victimised by IBSA suffered from trauma, post-traumatic syndrome disorder, anxiety, depression, feelings of loss of control, impaired sense of self, and difficulties developing trust in others. Women victims were more likely than men to report feelings of vulnerability and threats to overall safety, suggesting that some forms of IBSA are related to stalking and violence (Powell et al., 2018). Threats to safety are further exacerbated as victims are easily identifiable through image-based content and personal information posted online (Powell et al., 2018). Women victimised by IBSA can be contacted by on-and-offline actors who may harass, coerce, further distribute, or extort unless behavioural requests are met (Dunn, 2020). Cyber sextortion is a part of a larger continuum of IBSA, which broadly refers to making threats to share explicit content online to garner a victim's compliance with specific demands (O'Malley & Holt, 2020; Patchin & Hinduja, 2020). Demands are varied and are not always sexual (Liggett, 2019). Content is used to leverage control over victims, and the perpetrator's power to possibly harm victims is central to this crime (Liggett, 2019; Nadim & Fladmoe, 2019). Perpetrators of cyber sextortion garner the victim's images in various ways but most commonly online through manipulation or coercion (Liggett, 2019). Cyber sextortion is unique to other forms of abuse as it is ambiguous whether the images will be shared, which gives rise to fear and desperation in targeted victims (Nadim & Fladmoe, 2019). -7- Journal of Digital Life and Learning 2023, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-21 DOI: 10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218 While sextortion is used to control the target's behaviour, digital technologies and software have improved how the perpetrators commit these crimes (O'Malley & Holt, 2020). Motivations and methodology underpinning sextortion are associated with intimate partner violence, violence against women, cybercrime, and exploitation (O'Malley & Holt, 2020). Acar (2016) suggests three primary differences between cyber sextortion and other crimes: (a) cyber sextortion is exclusively online; (b) the perpetrator is in possession of threatening content; and (c) victims are forced into acts through threats to distribute content. Most IBSA victims prefer to stay unidentified, which results in a lack of public attention on issues related to cyber abuse (Wittes et al., 2016). Due to fear of personal safety and key figures being alerted, victims are forced to withdraw from online spaces, disclose the incident to employers, change contact information, and move physical locations and jobs (Powell et al., 2018). As a result, many victims have reported losing relationships with family, friends, and romantic partners (Henry et al., 2017). In some cases, victims may refuse to disclose threats due to shame and victim blaming, as women are commonly blamed for the content produced (Wolak et al., 2018). Hence, while the impact of media distribution is significant, its outcomes are emotionally harmful, particularly with the loss of close social networks. Deepfakes and Women The availability of technological devices has resulted in substantial growth of multimedia content in cyberspace, leading to increased content production and greater accessibility (Masood et al., 2021). Recently, digital impersonation has become more realistic and convincing (Chesney & Citron, 2019b). Jane (2016) argues that women have traditionally been the primary victims of nefarious adaptations in media and online content. While deepfake technology has been put to a wide range of benign uses, the technology has also been deployed to abuse, debase, and humiliate women victimised by IBSA (Westerlund, 2019). Widely overlooked in public debate, deepfakes offer a new way to exercise domination and power (Eaton & McGlynn, 2020; Jane, 2016). As effective weapons of abuse, deepfakes are most often deployed to compromise a woman's identity, inflict damage on her reputation, intimidate, and enforce silence (Dunn, 2020). By using a woman's face and body as a digital resource in the absence of consent, the distribution of deepfakes further presumes, breeds, and reinforces an online space in which women's images are forged for the overall pleasure of men who occupy these digital worlds (van der Nagel, 2020). Of the nearly 85,000 deepfakes circulating online, 96% depict non-consensual and sexually explicit content featuring women (Wang, 2019). For example, the online application, DeepNude, uses GANs to create natural looking depictions of nude women’s bodies (Cole, 2019). Over 104,000 fake nudes of women have been created and shared without the consent of victims, many of whom were under 18 years old (Burgess, 2020). Few women who have been targeted likely know that their deepfakes exist (Burgess, 2020). Often, there is very little that can be done even when deepfakes are known to victims (Ayyub, 2018; Maddocks, 2020). The prevalence of deepfakes and the limited recourse available to victims -8- Journal of Digital Life and Learning 2023, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-21 DOI: 10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218 is a complex issue, rooted in several factors. One primary challenge is the nascent nature of laws and regulations pertaining to deepfakes, which may not be sufficiently comprehensive or effective in providing adequate legal protection or avenues for redress (Chesney & Citron, 2019a). Moreover, the anonymity of deepfake creators, who often distribute manipulated content through anonymous or fake accounts, poses significant challenges in identifying and holding them accountable (Chesney & Citron, 2019a, 2019b; Citron, 2014). Compounding this difficulty is the persistent nature of deepfakes once they have been widely disseminated, as they can be readily replicated and circulated through multiple online channels, including social media and messaging applications, thereby exacerbating the challenges of mitigation and control (Chesney & Citron, 2019a; Citron, 2014). In 2018, pseudonymous users circulated a viral deepfake sex video featuring Rana Ayyub, an Indian investigative journalist, after she had made political comments regarding the child rape of a Kashmiri girl (Maddocks, 2020). Deepfake videos were distributed among various social media platforms, alongside her home address, phone number, and the phrase, “I am available” (Maddocks, 2020; Ayyub, 2018). Her Twitter and Facebook feed were overwhelmed with screenshots of the video, alongside death and rape threats (Ayyub, 2018). The video was further popularised when a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party quote tweeted the fake content and responded with "WTH [What the hell]....are you out of your mind????", giving the fake content further legitimacy to Twitter users (Maddocks, 2020). Despite calls for protection at national and international levels, Ayyub continued receiving obscene deepfake videos that attempted to slut shame her (Ayyub, 2018). In an article detailing her experiences, Ayyub (2018) stated that she now practices self-censorship, has withdrawn from various digital spaces, and fears people taking pictures of her as they may be used to create more deepfakes. Internet users can efficiently conceive deepfake videos subjecting targets to violent and humiliating sex acts, although not all deepfakes will be designed for the creator's sexual gratification (Chesney & Citron, 2019a). The techno-social landscape of online environments provides deepfakes with the capability to incite reputational damage (Morales, 2021). In 2019, a doctored video of US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was circulated on social media, which made it appear as though she was drunk and slurring her words (Paris & Donovan, 2019). The video was shared widely, leading to concerns about Pelosi's health and fitness for office (Paris & Donovan, 2019). Chesney and Citron (2019a) note that deepfakes can be created merely to inflict fear, pain, and silence on women participating in public and private spaces. Deepfakes depict women partaking in non-consensual activities without ever having engaged in them, inciting abuse on those who do not want the attention and do not have adequate resources to address these fabrications (Chesney & Citron, 2019b). In turn, the effects of deepfakes on women can have social, professional, and personal ramifications (TRT World, 2021). For example, Noelle Martin's face and personal information were used to create deepfake pornographic content when she was a high school student (Paris & Donovan, 2019). She faced death threats, rape threats, extortion, stalking, and unwanted sexual advances as a result. Although she sought help from authorities and -9- Journal of Digital Life and Learning 2023, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-21 DOI: 10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218 government agencies, there was no resolution. The deepfake attacks had a lasting impact on her social life, law school prospects, and comfort in public settings (Paris & Donovan, 2019). Significant psychological distress has been observed when victims discover their media content has been deepfaked, reporting feelings of humiliation, violation, fear, helplessness, and powerlessness (Jaiman, 2020; Molloy, 2019). Research has found that victims of deepfakes and IBSA suffered from psycho-affective harm, online-and-offline harassment, mental health issues, suicidal ideation, damaged professional and character reputations, and personal and physical violation despite never participating in the observed actions (Bates, 2017; Davidson et al., 2019; HM Government, 2019; Sparks, 2021). In 2019, British poet and novelist Helen Mort had her images superimposed onto a series of deepfakes on pornographic websites (Mort, 2022). These deepfakes appeared to have shown Mort engaging in extreme acts of sexual violence (Mort, 2022). She reported recurrent nightmares, in which these images replayed themselves repeatedly, and was "incredibly anxious about leaving the house” (Royle, 2021, para. 4). The threats of sexual violence "literally, albeit not physically, penetrates the body" (Chesney & Citron, 2019a, p. 1773). Citron (2019) suggests that deepfake videos force women into non-consensual activities, dehumanising them to mere objects of gratification. For victims, these videos can transform virtual threats into terrifying and physical realities; and to online users within cyberspace, it suggests that women can be abused at whim (Chesney & Citron, 2019a). Strong stigma is attributed to women's bodies and actions, so deepfake victims are forced to suffer the collateral consequences and reputational damage invoked by their perpetrators (Chesney & Citron, 2019a). DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Cyber abuse is rooted in unequal powers of control, resources, and social rules that seek to preserve a man's dominance over their female counterpart (Ayyub, 2018; Eckert, 2018; Morales, 2021; Powell & Henry, 2017; Powell et al., 2018; Sobieraj, 2018; Vera-Gray, 2017; Vitak et al., 2017; Wolak et al., 2017). Despite their recent emergence, deepfakes have become an effective tool in inflicting gender-based cyber-abuse, eroding a women's autonomy through shame, humiliation, and extortion (Chesney & Citron, 2019a; Maddocks, 2020; Molloy, 2019; Morales, 2021; Powell et al., 2018; Westerlund, 2019). While the harm from deepfakes is related to those found in IBSA victims, this study has highlighted the unique harms for women that are felt both at individual and systemic levels. The gendered nature of deepfakes, especially when sexual in design, must not be minimised. The nature of deepfakes fosters opportunities for nefarious actions, as perpetrators can easily superimpose a woman's face onto another individual without the victim having ever committed the act depicted in the image or video (Ciancaglini et al., 2020; United States Department of Homeland Security, 2019; Westerlund, 2019). Often, women are shown engaged in humiliating acts threatening their reputation, safety, and offline worlds (O'Malley & Holt, 2020). The inflicted harm is magnified when deepfake content is anonymously created and shared across -10- Journal of Digital Life and Learning 2023, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-21 DOI: 10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218 various internet platforms, allowing audiences to re-watch, download, and distribute (Westerlund, 2019). Findings suggest that using deepfakes to perpetuate abuse follows the underlying themes of power, control, and sexuality (Bates, 2017; Eaton & McGlynn, 2020; Jane, 2016; Liggett, 2019; O'Malley & Holt, 2020). The creation and use of deepfakes can represent a perception of regaining control or what can be described as compensatory manhood acts (van der Nagel, 2020). On individual levels, targeted women of deepfakes may experience fear, psychological and social maladjustments, mental health issues, reputational sabotage, and face long-lasting social, professional, and economic consequences (Ayyub, 2018; Chesney & Citron, 2019b; Paris & Donovan, 2019; TRT World, 2021). Deepfake abuse may rupture their lives, their sense of self and identity and their abilities to form healthy relationships with themselves and others (Bates, 2017; Davidson et al., 2019; HM Government, 2019; Sparks, 2021). For some, the harm and abuse may seem relentless and constant, whereby victims live each day in fear of having their images or deepfakes (re)discovered. Once uploaded, deepfake content becomes extremely difficult to remove from the Internet permanently; the availability and dissemination of this content become another iteration of abuse (Chesney & Citron, 2019a). As this is out of the control of victims, they are rendered powerless, further contributing to and magnifying feelings of helplessness and hopelessness (Jaiman, 2020; Molloy, 2019; O'Malley & Holt, 2022). The use of deepfakes challenges traditional claims and knowledge hierarchies; it thrives on tactics that have been historically used to sabotage women's claims of truth and justice (Ayyub, 2018; Jane, 2016; Mort, 2022). As the impacts of deepfakes carry an insurmountable impact on their targets, women may involuntarily withdraw from their on-and-offline worlds and be silenced. The silencing effect observed by victims further contributes to a profound sense of seclusion and mistrust at micro-, meso-, and macro-levels (Ayyub, 2018; Chesney & Citron, 2019a, 2019b; Mort, 2022). This is concerning as online harms often target women finding their voices and building their identities online and offline. The lack of recognition and extent of deepfake harm may be a form of disquisitional injustice for victims (Nadim & Fladmoe, 2019). Deepfake abuse fortifies issues related to gender disparities and preserves discriminatory practices that erode women's sovereignty and human rights (Nadim & Fladmoe, 2019). Deepfakes operate to discredit victims of their truth and draw from correspondence and coherence theories of truth to advance their credibility (Westerlund, 2019). First, AI technologies make deepfakes look real and correspond with the viewer's observed reality (Chesney & Citron, 2019b; Citron, 2019; Ngyuen et al., 2020). Second, deepfakes cohere with assumptions about women's sexual availability (Maddocks, 2020; Wang, 2019). Within this framing, discussion about fake porn appears to concretise existing trust flows and heighten distrust towards women; thus, the expected cyber abuse provides accountability (Chesney & Citron, 2019a; Citron, 2019; Maddocks, 2020). When speaking out, women become vulnerable to further abuse that endangers their physical safety. This automated distribution and silencing contribute to the normalisation of this type of harm (Ayyub, 2018; Chesney & Citron, 2019a; Citron, 2019; -11- Journal of Digital Life and Learning 2023, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1-21 DOI: 10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218 Mort, 2022). Without victim testimony or critical news coverage, this newest incarnation of abuse could become collectively unintelligible to the public. This study highlights the need for further examination into cyber abuse with deepfakes, the lived experiences of victims on-and-offline, and how they may cope with such abuse (Henry & Powell, 2015). The impact of cyber abuse is both critical and extensive; interventions that aim to empower victims should be explored and included (Jeffrey et al., 2020). 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She is the director of the Mental Health in the Digital Age Lab at Ontario Tech University. She researches and teaches human development and mental health in the digital age. Her research topics include wellness during times of crisis, digital wellness, digital self and emotional intelligence, cyber victimisation, digital technologies, psycho-education, creativity, and the arts. Aalyia Rehman graduated from the Life Science program at the University of Toronto in 2018, where she majored in Psychology and Health Studies. She completed her Master of Arts in Education under Dr. Jennifer Laffier and Dr. Janette Hughes's supervision, as well as the Bachelor of Education program at Ontario Tech University. She is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Education program at Ontario Tech University. Her research interests include child and youth mental health, identity development, digital technologies, art-making, and on-and- offline risk-and-resilience processes. Corresponding Author: Dr. Jennifer Laffier [email protected] -21-