AI-Generated Nude Photos Of Girls Circulate In Spanish Town; Probe On

A Spanish town is filled with shock and distress after several AI-generated naked images of young local girls began circulating on social media without their knowledge. The pictures were created using photos of fully clothed girls taken from their social media accounts.

The photos were then processed by an application that generated a fake image of a person without clothes on. As of now, more than 20 girls between the ages of 11 and 17 have come forward, alleging that their photo has been misused.

AI-Generated Nude Photos Of Girls Circulating In Spain

As per a BBC report, Maria Blanco Rayo, mother of a 14-year-old girl, said that one day her daughter returned home from school and told her that there were topless photos of her circulating on social media.

When the mother asked if she had taken any nude photos of herself, the girl said no, adding that the photos were fake. She had also said that the same had happened to other girls in her class as well. Rayo said that the parents of 28 girls have formed a support group in the town. While Rayo said that her daughter has been coping well, some girls “won’t even come out of their house.” This indicated the impact the circulation of the fake images has had on the girls’ lives.

Police are now investigating the case, and they have reportedly identified the involvement of at least 11 local boys in either the creation of the images or their circulation through WhatsApp and Telegram apps.

One of the girls alleged that an attempt to extort money was made using a fake image of her. The police are looking into that claim as well.

This incident is happening in and around Almendralejo, in the southwestern province of Badajoz. The town barely has a population of just over 30,000 people and is not used to the sudden attention this case has garnered, making the town flash through national headlines.

Miriam Al Adib, a gynaecologist who is the mother of one of the girls’, posted a reassuring video on her social media handle addressing the affected girls and their parents.

"When you are the victim of a crime, if you are robbed, for example, you file a complaint, and you don't hide because the other person has caused you harm. But with crimes of a sexual nature, the victim often feels shame, hides, and feels responsible. So I wanted to give that message: it's not your fault," she said in the post.

The suspects who have been identified in this case are aged between 12 and 14. The production of sexually explicit photos involving adults is not technically prohibited by Spanish law, but the use of minors in such activities could be considered child pornography. In Spain, minors only face criminal charges from age 14 upwards. So another possible charge would be for breaching privacy laws. The case has raised an alarm even among local people who are not involved.

Voices From Local Mothers

Those with kids are especially worried. Gema Lorenzo, a local resident and mother of a 16-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter, told the BBC, “If you have a son, you are worried if he might have done something like this, and if you have a daughter, you’re even more worried because it’s an act of violence.

Francisco Javier Guerra, a local painter and decorator, blamed the parents of the boys involved, saying that they should have done something to prevent this, like taking their phones away or installing an application that lets them monitor their children’s activity on mobile phones.

While this is not the first time such a case has happened in Spain, given that earlier this year topless images of singer Rosalia were posted on social media, this time the challenges are more complicated as minors at such a tender age are involved.

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