Woman Made Deepfake Videos To Blackmail Cheerleaders And Get Rid Of Daughter's Competition

Officials investigated a mother who used a TikTok deepfake feature to exploit her daughter's cheerleading squad opponents to get them off the team.

Hilltown Township Police officers said authorities charged Raffaela Spone from Pennsylvania with two misdemeanors. Spone is facing three counts of child cyber-harassment and three counts of harassment.

Philadelphia Inquirer said Raffaela Spone, a native of Chalfont, manipulated images of her daughter's rivals and even sent anonymous messages that urged the competitors to kill themselves. Spone sent them AI-manipulated images and videos of them smoking, drinking and even naked.

Police were first notified in July 2020, when one of the victims allegedly received texts from an unknown number.

This prompted others to come forward and say they had been suffering through the same thing. Officers later traced all of the numbers to a telemarketer-oriented website, linking the letter to Spone.

The officers then tracked down the IP address, which took them to Spone's residence.

Officers then obtained a search warrant for the woman's mobile after discovering solid evidence linking her to the numbers. Spone is currently facing misdemeanor allegations of alleged juvenile cyber abuse and other related offenses.

According to sources, the police have taken no action against the daughter. There is no proof that she was directly aware of her mother's actions.

Authorities released Spone on the condition that she appear in court on March 30 for a preliminary hearing. She had not hired an attorney, and efforts to contact her via phone or email on Friday were ineffective.

Social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook and even Twitter have all banned the use of deepfakes.

Deepfakes are images that have been altered by layering a single person's face on another. While this altered version seems to be very faulty, the effect may pass as genuine depending on a person's skill level.