A picture is worth a thousand words, but there are rather criminal charges on these images.
A mother in Pennsylvania allegedly made illegal fake videos of her daughter’s cheerleading rivals and sent them to their coaches to kick the kids off the team, authorities said.
The fake images, so expertly manipulated that they are known as ‘deepfakes’, were also sent to at least three girls in the Victory Vipers cheerleading team, with messages urging the young people to commit suicide. the Philadelphia Inquirer reported with reference to the Bucks. District Attorney’s Office
Raffaela Spone, 50, is charged with cyber harassment of a child and is accused of making the completely false screenshots, which show the children drinking, smoking and being naked, authorities said.
Spone was arrested on March 4.
According to court documents obtained by the newspaper, there was no indication that her teenage daughter knew what her mother was doing.
Police learned in July that one of the girls had received harassing text messages from an anonymous number, the court documents read, and that her coaches had sent nude photos of her drinking and drinking.
Two more girls came forward with complaints about the fake photos they showed in bikinis, which led police to investigate the anonymous number and contents.
Police found the photos and videos were theft – which appears to be authentic but has been digitally altered.
Investigators returned the number to telemarketers and tracked the data to an IP address coming from Spone’s home in Chalfont, about 50 minutes north of Philadelphia.
Victory Vipers told ABC News he cooperated with police during the investigation and that “all athletes involved are no longer part of our program.”
“Victory Vipers has always fostered a family environment and we are sorry for all involved,” the team said in a statement. “We have a very established policy and a very strict anti-bullying policy in our program.”