This is a nightmare to me. I was bullied in school. Many of us were, for one reason or another.But, being GenX, the home phone never went furt
This is a nightmare to me. I was bullied in school. Many of us were, for one reason or another.
Photo by 1388843
But, being GenX, the home phone never went further than the front porch. Most homes did not have even one computer. Now everyone has a phone/computer in their pocket for most of the day.
And, IF anyone wanted to do a “deep fake” they had to draw it by hand. Since art supplies and time are expensive, it didn’t happen too often.
Though like other girls, I did get passed some pretty stupid looking amateurish goofed up hand drawn images that some dude drew in class while he was supposed to be paying attention to the teacher. You learn to quietly fold it and put it between the pages of a book until you can throw it away.
Ignore it. Do not give it energy. Especially not yours.
Can’t do that now.
It was very real to us then. We felt it. Over-worked and under-paid teachers minimized it. It was no use telling them anything.
But today, it is real in a different way for young people today.
Here are three of the most recent, real, gut-wrenching stories showing how widespread this problem has become — and why we can’t stay silent.
1. The 44 Girls from a High School in Iowa
Earlier this year, 44 girls — classmates — discovered that AI technology had been used to create nude deepfake images of them. The images circulated among male classmates, without the girls’ consent. Missing & Exploited Children
Imagine waking up to that betrayal. The next day, they walked back into school — but nothing had changed. No check-in. No counseling. No real care. They were forced to sit beside some of the boys who had violated them. The girls banded together and released a public statement — “Voices of the Strong 44” — demanding respect, dignity, and protection. But all they got was silence from the system. Missing & Exploited Children
This wasn’t just about images: it was about power, control, and people treating young Black girls as objects. It’s a brutal reminder that our daughters’ lives, dignity, and safety can be treated like disposable gossip — unless we step in.
2. A 13-Year-Old in Louisiana: Body Peace Turned Battle
In 2025, a 13-year-old girl at a middle school in Louisiana found herself at the center of a deepfake horror. Male students allegedly used AI to generate and share nude images of her and other girls. The images were described by her father as “extremely explicit,” “looking real,” and “horrible.” CBS News
When she stood up — confronted a classmate on the bus — the school expelled HER. Even though authorities later discovered AI-generated nude images of eight female students and two adults, the male student was not expelled or suspended — only quietly transferred to another school. CBS News
Her eighth-grade year was shattered. According to her dad, she’s now dealing with depression and anxiety. The innocence of childhood lost — replaced by shame, pain, and a sense of being utterly unprotected.
3. A Teen Boy in Kentucky — Sextortion and Suicide
This crisis doesn’t only target girls. In February 2025, a 16-year-old boy, Elijah Heacock from Kentucky, was sent an AI-generated nude photo of himself — and a demand: pay $3,000 or the images would go to friends and family. People.com+1
He didn’t know the images were fake. He tried to comply, sending some money. But the threats continued. The shame. The fear. Eventually, the weight became unbearable, and he died by suicide. People.com
This is heartbreak at its worst. A young life cut short because predators used synthetic images to terrorize and extort. Because law didn’t keep up. Because, sometimes, even families don’t have the words or resources to protect.
There was a time when rumors stayed whispers. A time when your child could make a mistake and still outrun it. A time when privacy wasn’t optional, and innocence wasn’t something a stranger could steal with a click.
That time is gone.
We are raising children in a world where someone can take your child’s face — just their face — and weld it onto a body that isn’t theirs, in an act your child never agreed to, in a moment that never happened. And yet, it looks real enough to destroy them. Real enough to make them afraid to go to school. Real enough to sink a family into sleepless nights and unbearable questions.
Deepfakes aren’t just technology. They are new weapons. And our children are the battleground.