I was porn deepfaked by my best friend — I’m pleased the government is acting

A woman who was porn deepfaked by her best friend has “welcomed” the new government crackdown – after years of campaigning.

On Tuesday, British government announced that creating sexually explicit ‘deepfake’ images will now be a criminal offense. 

Perpetrators will face up to two years behind bars under new offenses for taking an intimate image without consent and installing equipment to enable these offences. 

Jodie, 26, from Cambridgeshire, England, became a victim of deepfake ‘porn’ – when she found fake videos of herself having sex on dating websites – including OK Cupid and Happn, in 2019. 

She went to police but says officers couldn’t do anything because Jodie didn’t know who was sharing them.

Then an anonymous email in March 2021 alerted her to a non-mainstream porn website where she found ‘deepfaked’ images and videos of herself – performing sexual acts.

People had taken ordinary, fully clothed photos of Jodie that she had shared on social media, and manipulated them using AI into pornographic sexually explicit images and videos.

Eventually, she worked out who it was – her own best friend, Alex Woolf – after spotting a photo shared that only he had access to – and Jodie reported it to the Met Police.

In August 2021, Woolf admitted 15 charges of sending messages that were grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing nature over a public electronic communications network.

On Wednesday, Jodie said she has fears over how the new legislation will be enforced successfully and is concerned about its “lack of clarity”.

She says it’s unclear whether the new law will be based on “consent” by the victim or “intent” of the poster.

“If it is an ‘intent-based’ piece of legislation, victims will have to prove intent of harm as it won’t be covered by consent.

“Which can be really difficult to prove, especially if the victim doesn’t know who is creating the images, and it can be traumatizing to re-live.”

Jodie described the situation she faced as “the ultimate violation”.

“There were nine or ten pictures and videos of me being what I can only describe as raped, and anally penetrated.”

“There was one with a schoolgirl’s body with my face on it, in a student-teacher relationship.”

“It felt like the whole world collapsed around me.”

“To take my photo out of context and have it used like that – I think it’s everyone’s worst nightmare.”

Woolf was given a 20-week prison sentence and suspended for two years.

“He was cowering in the corner when he was sentenced and he couldn’t even look at me when I spoke to him,” Jodie said. 

Since then, Jodie has campaigned for harsher penalties for people who distribute deepfakes, as well as criminalizing people who create them.

In September, 2024, Jodie launched a Change.org petition for a campaign in partnership with The End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), #NotYourPorn, Professor Clare McGlynn, and Glamour UK.

The petition received more than 60,000 signatures directed towards Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the PM Keir Starmer.

It called for the government to tackle image-based abuse – which has since been piecemeal and ineffective.

However, following this week’s announcement, Jodie says it’s really positive that the government is taking action.

“It’s positive knowing the new legislation will make the taking of non-consensual intimate and voyeuristic images illegal, ” Jodie said.  

“And I’m pleased to see that there will be prison sentences. 

“However, the deepfake abuse still lacks clarity – particularly around its enforcement, timings and solicitation. 

“Everyday there are new victims of these crimes, and we still have no idea when this is going to be implemented. 

“I worry that this is going to take ages and it will not be a consent-based piece of legislation – which would render it useless.

“It needs to be a package where perpetrators are offered therapy, rehabilitation – and even placed on the sex offenders register so the police can search their devices at any time. 

“The people who commit these acts aren’t ‘monsters’, but who live among us – they can be our family, friends, and loved-ones.”