The fake images of naked children generated by Artificial Intelligence that shocked a city in Spain

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Portraits were created from photos of the young women fully clothed, many of them taken from their own social media accounts; more than 20 girls in Almendralejo have already come forward as victims. Almendralejo is a picturesque village with a population of just over 30,000, known for its olive production and red wine BBC A sleepy town in southern Spain is in shock amid the revelation that intelligence-generated images of naked local girls Artificial Intelligence (AI), circulated on social networks without their knowledge. The portraits were created from photos of the young women fully clothed, many of them taken from their own social media accounts. These were then processed by an application that generates an imaginary image of the person without clothes. So far, more than 20 girls, aged between 11 and 17, have come forward as victims of using the app in the village of Almendralejo, in the province of Badajoz, in the southwest of the country, and also in its surroundings. “One day, my daughter left school and said, ‘Mom, I saw topless photos of me circulating on social media,'” says María Blanco Rayo, mother of a 14-year-old girl BBC “One day, my daughter left school and I said, ‘Mom, I saw topless photos of me circulating on social media,'” says María Blanco Rayo, mother of a 14-year-old girl. “I asked her if she had taken any nude photos and she said, ‘No, Mom, those are fake photos that are being created in large numbers now and there are other girls in my class that this has happened to too.'” She says the parents of 28 affected girls formed a support group in the city. The police are now investigating the case. According to the Spanish press, at least 11 local boys were identified as being involved in creating the images or circulating them through the WhatsApp and Telegram applications. Authorities are also investigating the allegation that an attempt was made to extort one of the girls by using a false image of her. The impact that the circulation of the photos had on the affected girls varies. Blanco Rayo says her daughter is fine, but that some girls “don’t even leave the house.” Almendralejo is a picturesque village with a population of just over 30 thousand inhabitants, known for its olive and red wine production. But she is not used to the sudden attention this case generated, making the city national headlines in Spain. This is largely due to the efforts of one of the girls’ mothers, Miriam Al Adib Mendiri. Daughter of gynecologist Miriam Al Adib Mendiri was one of the victims; she used her prominent social media profile to put the issue at the center of Spanish public debate BBC She is a gynecologist who used her social media profile, with thousands of followers, to put the issue at the center of Spanish public debate. While many of the AI ​​images are believed to have been created over the summer, the case only came to light in recent days after Adib Mendiri posted a video reassuring the affected girls and their parents. “We didn’t know how many children were victims, if they had been posted on porn sites — we had all these fears,” she says. “When you are the victim of a crime, if you are robbed, for example, you report it and you don’t hide because the other person caused you harm. But in crimes of a sexual nature, the victim is often ashamed and hides, feeling responsible for what happened. So, I wanted to send this message: it’s not your fault.” The suspects in the case are aged between 12 and 14. Spanish law does not specifically cover the generation of images of a sexual nature involving adults, although the creation of such material using minors could be considered child pornography. Another possible accusation would be violation of privacy laws. But, in Spain, minors can only be charged with a crime from the age of 14. The case caused concern even for the local population who did not is involved. “Those of us who have children are very worried,” Gema Lorenzo, a local resident who has a 16-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter, tells the BBC. “You’re worried about two things: whether you have a son, you worry that he might have done something like this; and if you have a daughter, you are even more worried (about her), because it is an act of violence”, he adds. For Francisco Javier Guerra, local painter and decorator, it is the fault of the parents of the boys involved BBC Francisco Javier Guerra, painter and local decorator, says the blame lies with the parents of the boys involved. “They should have done something sooner, like take away their phones or install an app that tells them what their kids are doing with their phones,” he says. This is not the first time that a case of this type has made news in Spain. Earlier this year, AI-generated topless images of singer Rosalía were posted on social media. “Women from different parts of the world wrote to me explaining that this happened to them and that they don’t know what to do,” says Adib Mendiri. “Right now, this is happening all over the world. The only difference is that in Almendralejo we made a fuss about it.” The concern is that apps like those used in Almendralejo will become increasingly common. Spanish authorities are investigating the case BBC Javier Izquierdo, head of child protection in the cybercrime unit of the Spanish national police, said in an interview with journalists that these types of crimes are no longer confined “to the guy who downloads child pornography from the Dark Web or some hidden Internet forum.” “This is obviously still happening, but now the new challenges we face are the access that minors have at such an early age [a essa tecnologia]as in this case”, he added.

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