“My deepfake nightmare” I The Conversation I BBC Focus on Africa Podcast

What does it feel like when your photos are taken, manipulated, and shared online without your consent? That’s the reality for 23-year-old Debra Nashipae, a Kenyan student and aspiring musician whose images were turned into deepfake pornography - a form of digital abuse that experts say is rapidly increasing. According to UN Women, 90–95% of all deepfakes online are non-consensual pornographic images, and around 90% of those depict women. UN Women also highlights that half of the world’s women and girls lack legal protection against this kind of digital harm. In this episode of Focus on Africa: The Conversation, host Nkechi Ogbonna spoke to Debra about her experience, along with her lawyer, Mercy Mutemi, who is advocating for justice and stronger digital protection. 0:00 Coming up 0:47 Introduction 2:34 Debra’s first deepfake experience 4:27 Her recent deepfake videos 6:11 People's reactions to Debra’s images 6:51 How has this affected Debra’s life? 8:29 The psychological impact 9:07 UN women alarm 9:42 Another woman’s deepfake pornography 12:30 Law enforcement and digital abuse 13:34 Debra’s journey for justice 15:17 Debra’s current relationship with social media? 16:20 What would Debra say if she could’ve met the person who deepfake her picture? 17:16 What would justice look like 18:34 Responses from Telegram and X. Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna Producers: Priyanka Sippy, Carolyne Kiambo, Ly Truong, Fana Negash, Waihiga Mwaura Editors: Maryam Abdalla and Sam Murunga #deepfakevsoriginal #theconversation #bbcafrica Subscribe: http://bit.ly/subscribetoafrica Website: https://www.bbc.com/africa Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bbcnewsafrica/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/bbcafrica/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bbcafrica/