Dear Friend –

The explosive growth of AI-generated deepfakes is a problem that if left unchecked will soon be a very significant threat to our democratic system of government, not to mention the nightmare it already is for so many who have non-consensually had their likeness used in deepfake porn.

You probably heard about the deepfake images of Taylor Swift that circulated earlier this year [1] – but those represent just the tip of the iceberg [2] when it comes to the now-widespread abuse, humiliation, harassment, and degradation of non-consensual pornographic deepfakes.

And you’ve likely also heard about the first significant use of deepfakes to corrupt our democracy this election season – the robocalls right before the New Hampshire primary that used AI to mimic President Biden’s voice in an attempt to depress turnout in that election.[3]

Here at Accountable Tech, we’ve called on social media platforms to address this urgent issue – and while it’s clear they have to play a central role, it’s also clear from our work on kids’ safety that these companies won’t make meaningful reforms unless they’re forced to – so we’re also advocating for legislation at both the state and federal levels to crack down on the use of deepfakes.

To ramp up this campaign, though, we really need your help. Can you chip in today to help Accountable Tech fight on both the legislative and corporate accountability fronts and counter this growing threat?

YES, I'LL DONATE

No one should ever have to fear that their likeness is going to be turned into a porn video – but for women everywhere, especially those who are outspoken online (such as in the “Gamergate” scandal [4]), that threat is depressingly real these days.

And on the political front, malign actors have for years now weaponized social media platforms – with the Cambridge Analytica scandal serving as the most prominent example – to meddle in our elections, spread falsehoods, attack democracy, and erode our shared reality.

Now with online AI tools making the creation of deepfakes a trivially easy matter, the capacity for harm has been turbocharged – and it’s safe to say that what we’re seeing now is just the first ripple of a big wave that, if we don’t force a change of course, will have severe negative impacts for all of us down the road.

Accountable Tech is in a great position to fight on both the corporate accountability and regulatory sides to slow down and stop the harmful uses of these AI-powered technologies … but as a grassroots-supported organization, we can’t do that without your help.

So please chip in today to help us stop the growing threat of deepfakes.

Thanks in advance for any support you can provide today!

Sincerely,

Nicole Gill
Co-founder and Executive Director
Accountable Tech

1. Billboard: The Taylor Swift Deepfakes Were Awful. How Do We Stop the Next One?
2. Vogue: More and More Women Are Facing the Scary Reality of Deepfakes
3. NBC News: Fake Joe Biden robocall tells New Hampshire Democrats not to vote Tuesday
4. Vox: What we still haven’t learned from Gamergate

Chip in to support our work holding Big Tech accountable:

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