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Campaigners are warning the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create realistic but fake nude images of real women is becoming “normalised”.

It’s also an increasing concern in schools. A recent survey by Internet Matters found 13% of teenagers have had an experience with nude deepfakes, while the NSPCC told Sky News “a new harm is developing”.

Ofcom will later this month introduce codes of practice for internet companies to clamp down on the illegal distribution of fake nudes, but Sky News has met two victims of this relatively new trend, who say the law needs to go further.

Earlier this year, social media influencer and former Love Island contestant, Cally Jane Beach, 33, was horrified when she discovered someone had used AI to turn an underwear brand photograph of her into a nude and it was being shared online.

The original image had been uploaded to a site that uses software to digitally transform a clothed picture into a naked picture.

She told Sky News: “It looked so realistic, like nobody but me would know. It was like looking at me, but also not me.”

She added: “There shouldn’t be such a thing. It’s not a colouring book. It’s not a bit of fun. It’s people’s identity and stripping their clothes off.”

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Image:
An underwear ad that Cally Jane Beach did was manipulated into a nude image

When Cally reported what had happened to the police, she struggled to get them to treat it as a crime.

“They didn’t really know what they could do about it, and because the site that hosted the image was global, they said that it’s out of their jurisdiction,” she said.

In November, Assistant Chief Constable Samantha Miller, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, addressed a committee of MPs on the issue and concluded “the system is failing”, with a lack of capacity and inconsistency of practice across forces.

ACC Miller told the women and equalities committee she’d recently spoken to a campaigner who was in contact with 450 victims and “only two of them had a positive experience of policing”.

The government says new legislation outlawing the generation of AI nudes is coming next year, although it is already illegal to make fake nudes of minors.

Meanwhile, the problem is growing with multiple apps available for the purpose of unclothing people in photographs. Anyone can become a victim, although it is nearly always women.

Professor Clare McGlynn, an expert in online harms, said: “We’ve seen an exponential rise in the use of sexually explicit deepfakes. For example, one of the largest, most notorious websites dedicated to this abuse receives about 14 million hits a month.

“These nudify apps are easy to get from the app store, they’re advertised on Tik Tok, So, of course, young people are downloading them and using them. We’ve normalised the use of these nudify apps.”

‘Betrayed by my best friend’

Sky News spoke to “Jodie” (not her real name) from Cambridge who was tipped off by an anonymous email that she appeared to be in sex videos on a pornographic website.

“The images that I posted on Instagram and Facebook, which were fully clothed, were manipulated and turned into sexually explicit material,” she said.

Image:
Alex Woolf avoided jail and was told to pay £100 to each of his 15 victims

Jodie began to suspect someone she knew was posting pictures and encouraging people online to manipulate them.

Then she found a particular photograph, taken outside King’s College in Cambridge, that only one person had.

It was her best friend, Alex Woolf. She had airdropped the picture to him alone.

Woolf, who once won BBC young composer of the year, was later convicted of offences against 15 women, mostly because of Jodie’s perseverance and detective work.

Even then, his conviction only related to the offensive comments attached to the images, because while it’s illegal to share images – it’s not a crime to ask others to create them.

Image:
Jodie identified Woolf as he was the only one she’d sent this photo to

He was given a suspended sentence and ordered to pay £100 to each of his victims.

Jodie believes it’s imperative new laws are introduced to outlaw making and soliciting these types of images.

“My abuse is not your fun,” she said.

Online abuse has the same effect psychologically that physical abuse does. I became suicidal, I wasn’t able to trust those closest to me because I had been betrayed by my best friend. And the effect of that on a person is monumental.”

‘A scary, lonely place’

A survey in October by Teacher Tap found 7% of teachers answered yes to the question: “In the last 12 months, have you had an incident of a student using technology to create a fake sexually graphic image of a classmate?”

In their campaigning both Cally and Jodie have come across examples of schoolgirls being deep faked.

Cally said: “It is used as a form of bullying because they think it’s funny. But it can have such a mental toll, and it must be a very scary and lonely place for a young girl to be dealing with that.”

Read more from Sky News:
Paedophile who made AI abuse images jailed for 18 years

Google’s AI chatbot Gemini tells user to ‘please die
Sex offenders using virtual reality to abuse children

The NSPCC said it has had calls about nude deepfakes to its helpline.

The charity’s policy manager for child safety online, Rani Govender, said the pictures can be used as “part of a grooming process” or as a form of blackmail, as well as being passed around by classmates “as a form of bullying and harassment”.

“Children become scared, isolated and they worry they won’t be believed that the images are created by someone else,” Ms Govender said.

She added: “This is a new harm, and it is developing, and it will require new measures from the government with child protection as a priority.”

Alex Davies-Jones, under-secretary of state for victims, told MPs in November: “We’ve committed to making an offence of creating a deepfake illegal and we will be legislating for that this session.”

For campaigners like Jodie and Cally the new laws can’t come soon enough. However, they worry they won’t have strong enough clauses around banning the soliciting of content and ensuring images are removed once they’ve been discovered.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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UK weather: Amber warning for snow issued – and temperatures could drop to -16C this week

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UK weather: Amber warning for snow issued - and temperatures could drop to -16C this week

An amber warning has been issued for snow in a part of the UK, likely to cause travel delays and “stranding some vehicles and passengers”.

The warning, which covers south west England, also warns some rural communities could become cut off and is in place until 2pm this evening.

Pic: Met Office
Image:
Pic: Met Office

There is also a yellow weather warning for snow covering the southern counties of England until midnight on Wednesday.

The warning stretches from Kent to Cornwall and up to south London and the Met Office said between 2cm and 5cm of snow could accumulate fairly widely, with as much as 10cm over higher ground.

This week is expected to see the coldest nights of the year, with temperatures potentially reaching -14C on Wednesday night and -16C on Thursday night, both in the North East of England and Scotland, the Met Office said.

Weather warnings issued on Tuesday for snow and ice covering the parts of Wales, the North West of England, west and northern parts of Scotland as well as Northern Ireland will remain in place until midnight tomorrow.

The forecaster said some roads and railways are likely to be affected and there could be icy patches on untreated roads.

Members of the public walk through heavy snowfall on the high street of Saddleworth.
Pic: AP
A woman walks through heavy snowfall on the high street of Saddleworth.
Pic: AP
Image:
Pics: AP

Meanwhile the Environment Agency has said at least 300 properties have flooded across England since New Year’s Eve. It estimates more than 41,000 properties have been protected.

Heavy rainfall over the New Year caused significant river and surface water flooding across the North West of England and Yorkshire and snowmelt has brought further disruption to parts of England, particularly the Midlands, the agency said.

Read more from Sky News:
Terrifying firestorm rips through home of film stars and billionaires
Homes destroyed – how people are coping with floods

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Man says flooding ‘came out of nowhere’

Floods minister Emma Hardy said: “My sympathies go out to the people, businesses and communities impacted by the recent flooding across the country.

“I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep people safe. People must continue to follow their advice and sign up for flood warnings.”

Flood warnings

Some 100 flood warnings were in force across England on Wednesday, with people urged to remain vigilant over the coming days.

A danger-to-life warning was issued on Tuesday morning for the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, but was later removed.

People living in caravan parks in the area were urged by the Environment Agency to act, with a large-scale evacuation needed to save lives.

Firefighters have rescued dozens of people across Leicestershire since Monday, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said.

Hundreds of schools were closed across the UK, with road and rail links blocked, as Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool John Lennon airports suspended flights because of the conditions.

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UK Athletics and former games head of sport charged with manslaughter over Paralympian’s death

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UK Athletics and former games head of sport charged with manslaughter over Paralympian's death

UK Athletics Ltd and a former head of sport for a major London games have been charged with manslaughter following the death of Paralympian Abdullah Hayayei, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

United Arab Emirates athlete Mr Hayayei died aged 36 after a metal throwing cage fell on him while he was shot put training at Newham Leisure Centre in London in 2017.

The Paralympian was pronounced dead at the scene after he was struck by a metal pole in the incident.

He was training in preparation to represent his country in the shot put, discus and javelin at the World Para Athletics Championships which began in London later that week.

Teams and coaches from several nations were present at the time of the tragedy.

Keith Davies, 77, the former head of sport for the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and a health and safety offence.

UK Athletics has been charged with corporate manslaughter and a Health and Safety at Work Act offence.

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Both UK Athletics and Davies are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 31 January.

Malcolm McHaffie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service reminds everyone that criminal proceedings are active and both UK Athletics Ltd and Davies have the right to a fair trial.

“It is extremely important that there be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”

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The Met Police launched an investigation following Mr Hayayei’s death on 11 July 2017, with the Crown Prosecution Service saying today that it has authorised charges following a review of evidence provided by the force.

Mr Hayayei made his Paralympic debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and was set to feature in his second World Championships in 2017.

Ed Warner, who was co-chair of London 2017, said after Mr Hayayei’s death: “This is a devastating event and everyone within the London 2017 Organising Committee is shocked and saddened.

“We will be working closely with all the competitors and teams over the days ahead to offer support wherever it is needed.”

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Boy, 14, stabbed to death on London bus named as Kelyan Bokassa

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Boy, 14, stabbed to death on London bus named as Kelyan Bokassa

The 14-year-old who was stabbed to death on a bus in southeast London yesterday has been named as Kelyan Bokassa.

He was stabbed to death on a bus in Woolwich Church Street, close to the Woolwich Ferry, just before 2.30pm on Tuesday.

The teenager died at the scene shortly after medical help arrived.

No arrests have been made so far but officers are appealing for witnesses who were on the 472 bus.

Police called the stabbing a “horrific attack”.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Thorpe, who is leading the investigation, said: “Following Kelyan’s tragic death yesterday, specialist officers are now leading the investigation which is progressing at pace.

“If anyone saw this horrific attack or was in the area then I urge them to come forward and speak to officers.

“We’re particularly interested in any mobile phone footage that captured this incident or any dash cam or doorbell footage from around the surrounding area at the time of this incident.”

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