Deepfakes Targeting LGBTQ+ Individuals

LGBTQ+ individuals face specific vulnerabilities in deepfake attacks. In addition to the standard NCII harms, deepfake campaigns targeting LGBTQ+ individuals may include threats to out the victim to family, employers, or communities where their identity is not known or safe. This weaponization of outing combined with intimate content distribution creates compound harm. Discovering where your face appears can help individuals understand their exposure regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or whether the deepfake relates to their actual identity.

Compound harm: outing and NCII together

Deepfake attacks against LGBTQ+ individuals frequently combine two forms of harm: creating or distributing intimate imagery and using that content to out the victim. The perpetrator may threaten to send deepfake intimate content to the victim's family, religious community, or employer as leverage for coercion. This creates a sextortion dynamic with LGBTQ+ specificity. Both the NCII component (content distribution) and the extortion component (threatening to out) are criminal under federal law.

Confidential discovery process

ScanErase processes all cases with complete confidentiality. The discovery process never involves contacting family, employers, or any third parties. Victims can use ScanErase without any disclosure of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or relationship to the content.

Community resources

LGBTQ+-specific resources for NCII victims include the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative's crisis helpline, the Trevor Project's crisis support (for LGBTQ+ youth), GLAAD's anti-harassment resources, and the National Center for Transgender Equality for transgender-specific issues. Law enforcement agencies in major US cities have LGBTQ+-liaison units with experience in deepfake and NCII cases.