Scores of female MEPs have been targeted by deepfake pornography websites, it has been revealed.
The sites are said to have published false and altered images of about 50 deputies, mainly female members.
The “digital violence” is said to have targeted almost one in six women in the European Parliament.
They include 25-year-old MEP Lena Schilling who said, “The violence is old. The method is new.
“The aim is to humiliate, intimidate and silence women.”
The revelations have been strongly condemned by Roberta Metsola, president of the EU Parliament.
She said, “Violence against women, online or offline, is intolerable and deplorable”.
She went on to state that the images are “disturbing” and it was an “attempt to target and prey upon elected politicians doing their duty.”
Details emerged after a major study by Agora Digitale Transformation, a German-based think tank, was published.
The Agora Digitale Transformation briefing, dated October, states that the results of its “new external audit measuring the exposure of MEPs are clear: the EU’s current rules governing this harm are not stopping it.”
It goes on, “AI-generated non-consensual intimate imagery (AIG-NCII), colloquially known as deepfake pornography, is a systemic threat to women in European politics.”
The four authors recommend that regulators should “act on their own initiative, collective redress should be strengthened and success should be measured by prevention, not takedowns.”
They say those behind the cases they uncovered are “anonymous or offshore.”
The authors said that between 26-30 September they checked the names of 720 sitting members of the European Parliament against 200 domains known to host deepfake pornography, “celebrity leaks,” and “inappropriate candid images of women in public life (for example, upskirting).”
“We neither interacted with any producers or distributors of depictive content, nor downloaded or stored depictive content at any stage.”
They continue, “All major party groups from across the political spectrum in the European Parliament have been impacted. This includes: Greens/EFA, EPP, The Left, Renew, S&D, ESN and Patriots.”
“The 200 domains, including gateway sites and nudifier apps, we have examined are small, often registered or hosted outside the EU.”
They go on, “In the EU, the GDPR is very clear. A sexualised deepfake of an identifiable MP or MEP involves the processing of personal data with no lawful basis.”
Speaking from Strasbourg, Metsola, a Maltese MEP, said she wanted to “reassure young women watching who might be wondering about whether there was a place for them in politics.”
Her message was, “You belong here. Your voice belongs here. And we will stand with you.”
The president also called on EU Member States to “prepare now” to enforce a planned ban on nudifier apps that is due to come into force on 2 December.
The research is said to be the first systematic assessment of the extent to which female MEPs are affected by AI-generated sexualised violence.
The Greens/EFA Group said, “In addition to the 147 previously identified cases involving national parliamentarians, the study had identified a further 50 MEPs who have been affected, 46 of them women.”
“This means that around one in six female MEPs has now been affected.”
Greens/EFA Group leader Terry Reintke, said, “The scale of digital violence is shocking.”
The German MEP added, “Apparently, simply being a woman in public is enough to awaken the basest instincts. And these are only the cases we know about.”
“The true scale is likely much greater. All alarm bells must be ringing. Effective protection against digital violence must finally be put in place and properly enforced.”
She went on, “We call on members of all democratic parliamentary groups to support our demands. The Commission and Member States must now ensure that, from 2 December 2026, all so-called nudifier apps disappear.
“We must dismantle the business model behind digital violence. Tech companies must make it much easier and faster to remove non-consensual nude images and videos from their platforms.
“The burden must shift. It cannot be left to those affected to ensure that degrading images and videos are removed. Platforms must take responsibility and be held accountable.”
Further comment comes from Austrian MEP Lena Schilling, also a Greens/EFA member who was among those affected.
She commented, “Almost one in six women in the European Parliament has been affected by this form of digital violence.
“Without their knowledge or consent, AI-generated nude images are created and disseminated, or an ‘Undress Her’ button is being added to their photos.
“This is exactly what has happened to 50 Members of this Parliament, 46 of them women.”
She said, “I am one of them.”
“The violence is old. The method is new. The aim is to humiliate, intimidate and silence women. I want to live in a world where women can enter politics, be visible and raise their voices without having to fear sexualised violence.
“What we accept today, our daughters may have to endure tomorrow.”
In a letter initiated by Reintke and Schilling, and supported by the group leaders of the Social Democrats, Liberals and the Left, MEPs have now called on the European Commission and Member States to “take decisive action against sexualised AI deepfakes and to effectively enforce the ban on so-called “nudifier” apps from 2 December 2026.”
