Love Island's Cally Jane Beech reveals moment she was deepfaked online
The reality star turned campaigner shares her ordeal during a podcast about deepfake image abuse
Last updated 10 hours ago
Love Island's Cally Jane Beech is sharing her experience of being deepfaked - as part of our new Deepfaked podcast exploring the impact of image abuse online.
Cally's nightmare began when she received a message alerting her to a nude image of what appeared to be her circulating online.
Initially she says she was in disbelief, but realised the gravity of the situation when she saw the manipulated image herself, that she says originated from an underwear campaign she'd previously worked on.
“Do people think this is real?"
“When I opened mine, I was really shocked because it was, fully like my body... it was really bizarre.
“At first, my initial reaction when I opened it wasn't like, oh my God fear. It was more like, oh, that looks really strange.”
As part of the discussion Cally shares the impact this image abuse has had on her and the need for actionable changes in legislation and societal attitudes.
You can watch the podcast discussion here.
The Impact of deepfake image abuse
Upon discovering this fake image on a global site advertising nudification apps, Cally took to social media to raise awareness.
From there, the former Love Islander engaged with other affected women, including victims as young as 16.
She recalled to us how her immediate concern was the serious implications of these deepfake images being perceived as real by others.
She expressed the frustration of trying to grasp the enormity of it, saying, “Do people think this is real? And then I started to go into a panic thinking, oh my God, this is actually really serious.”
The incident brought personal anxiety for Cally, though she continues to campaign for change, voicing her concerns both publicly and in Parliament.
It's specifically policy change to prevent the misuse of technology that she's wanting to see.
The law on deepfakes
The legal landscape surrounding deepfake image abuse has significantly strengthened.
In February this year, the act of creating sexually explicit deepfakes without consent was made illegal. Meaning the law now recognises creating, sharing and threatening to share these types of images as a criminal offence.
It is punishable through unlimited fines, a criminal record, or time behind bars.
Tech platforms are also responsible for removing any illegal deepfake content or intimate images shared without consent, and under new rules, have to do so within 48 hours.
A ban on ‘nudification’ tools is also underway, that would be criminalising those who design and supply these sorts of apps and sites.
Looking ahead, the Government's aiming to produce a framework for industries to better assess deepfake content on their platforms.
“Look at the damage to all the women that's been done in four years.”
In the podcast, themes like freedom of speech, tech company responsibilities, and societal norms came up.
These were addressed by our panel, who expressed a wish to see educational change, particularly around misogynistic behaviour and the perception of women online.
Cally emphasised the need for quicker legal responses:
“I just feel like everything should have just been done yesterday, and that's just how I feel about it. Like I understand that things are being done. But... it's just not quick enough. It's not. Look at the damage to all the women that's been done in four years.”
You can read more about the other women involved in the roundtable, including Narinder Kaur, here.
If you, or someone you know has been deepfaked
If you've been impacted by deepfakes or online image abuse, you can get support and advice from:
The Cyber Helpline who offer advice to victims of online harm.
The Revenge Porn Helpline supports all adult victims of intimate image abuse in the UK.
And the Police have advice about the next steps you can take if you've been a victim.