British female politicians have become the victims of fake pornography, with some of their faces used in nude images created using artificial intelligence. Political candidates targeted on one prominent fake pornography website include the Labour deputy leader, Angela Rayner; the education secretary, Gillian Keegan; the Commons leader, Penny Mordaunt; the former home secretary, Priti Patel; and the Labour backbencher Stella Creasy, according to Channel 4 News. Many of the images have been online for several years and attracted hundreds of thousands of views. While some are crude Photoshops featuring the politician's head imposed on to another person's naked body, other images appears to be more complicated deepfakes that have been created using artificial intelligence technology. Some of the politicians targeted have now contacted the police.

While it looks like another tale of internet magic, it points to something darker stirring in the internet's depths. This story was originally published August 19, 2019. The video exists thanks to deepfake technology and while its realism is still in its infancy, it's fast becoming one of the most terrifying developments in technology. To better understand how it works and what it means the future, we peeked under the covers. A update to Virginia, U.S.A.'s law against revenge porn banning the distribution of videos and images that have been deepfaked - modified using machine learning algorithms to picture someone else - or otherwise created with the intent to "coerce, harass, or intimidate" a victim went into effect on Tuesday, per CNET.