Grainne Seoige experienced nightmares of being attacked after AI deepfake abuse

The broadcaster says she often had night terrors of 'faceless men coming by and just ripping my clothes off as they pass me' after AI deepfake images of her circulated online

Grainne Seoige has told of experiencing nightmares of being attacked after AI deepfake images of her circulated online.

The broadcaster and former Fianna Fail candidate was left devastated in 2024 when AI-generated pornographic images of her were shared online when she was in the middle of her general election campaign.

Grainne says the psychological impact of what she and so many other people have gone through is distressing.

She learned from speaking to people with similar experiences that they shared common symptoms of PTSD like nightmares and a fear of leaving their homes.

Grainne said: "It's a bit like a sexual assault, a physical sexual assault.

"It happens in the online world, but the effects that are felt are in the physical."

The Galway native often had night terrors of "faceless men coming by and just ripping my clothes off as they pass me."

"We all experienced the same type of dreams, where you're being attacked and you're not able to stop it from happening," she said.

"One woman told me a dream where she's in her car and it is locked, but all these men are trying to open the door and she's terrified.

"It's a feeling of being in grave danger.

"I went through a period where I just wore a long puffer coat everywhere I went.

"I didn't want anybody to see my body. And that was a coping mechanism at the time, so that I couldn't be viewed in that way."

Grainne says her husband Leon was a great support during the traumatic time.

She told the Sunday Independent: "I think the great thing my husband in particular is that he never became one of those men stomping around the house going [shakes her fist]: 'If I got a hold of him...', he didn't do that.

"So it was great because I then wasn't managing him.

"He was just there for me, trying to help me to get help. He didn't go into that macho mode."

Grainne's new documentary, Deepfake Ireland: The Naked Truth , airs on Virgin Media week.

And the former newsreader admits she always receives abuse from men online whenever she publicly raises the issue of these harmful AI images.

"I see it every time I talk this," she said.

"There's a raft of abuse to say 'Oh for God's sake, it's not that serious, it's only pixels', and 'You signed up for this because you're in the public eye'."

When asked what advice she would have for parents who post pictures of their children on social media, Grainne said: "Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it.

"It is terrifying but it's real.

"This is not me walking around with a [sandwich] board saying: 'The end is nigh'.

"The fact of the matter is, this is happening."