A rugby league television presenter in New Zealand has opened up on the horror of discovering she had become the latest victim of deepfake AI attacks.

Tiffany Salmond, a popular NRL sideline reporter known for her coverage of New Zealand Warriors games on Fox League, became the target of a disturbing deepfake AI attack.

After posting a bikini photo on Instagram, a manipulated video was created and circulated online within hours.

Salmond condemned the act, stating, ‘You don’t make deepfakes of women you overlook. You make them of women you can’t control.’

Now she has spoken about the horror she felt when the video emerged. 

‘Felt important to speak up on this. Glad it’s opening up a wider conversation,’ she shared on Instagram.

New Zealand NRL television presenter Tiffany Salmond was the target of a deepfake AI attack

Salmond has spoken out with a heartfelt statement about the terrible impact on her when the video was released 

‘I’ll be honest, it was shocking,’ Salmond said.

‘Having the public profile that I do, especially as a woman working in a male-dominated sport, I’m no stranger to having my looks discussed or being the subject of sometimes perverse conversations.

‘But this was the first time it went beyond just chatter.

‘To actually see photos of myself – ones I had posted confidently on social media – turned into videos where I’m moving and doing explicit actions, was surreal.

‘If deepfakes were purely about attraction, we would see women making them about men, but we don’t – and it’s because in those dynamics, that power imbalance doesn’t exist. 

‘We live in a society where men can’t get enough of women’s bodies, but it’s only when they get a sneaky view that they weren’t meant to see.’ 

It comes after Gold Coast Titans and New South Wales Blues star Jaime Chapman, 23, was recently targeted by a deepfake AI attack involving manipulated images of her in a bikini circulated online without her consent.

Chapman publicly condemned the incident on Instagram, expressing that it was not the first time she had been subjected to such attacks and highlighting the emotional toll it has taken on her.

NRLW star Jaime Chapman is another sport personality who has been the victim of AI deepfakes

WNBA star Angel Reese was the victim of deepfakes when she was just 21 and still in college

In response, the Gold Coast Titans, alongside the NRL Integrity Unit and NSW Police, have launched an investigation to identify those responsible for creating and distributing the doctored images.

The issue of deepfake images and videos has become a global issue.  

WNBA star Angel Reese has also become a victim, portayed to be committing sexual acts in photos that were AI generated. She debunked any authenticity to the ‘crazy and weird’ images at the time.

‘Creating fake AI pictures of me is crazy and weird AF!’ Reese wrote on X. 

‘Like I know I’m fine & seem to have an appeal to some but I’m literally 21 and yall doing this bs when I would neverrrrrr.’

The deepfakes are not isolated to pornographic or salacious images and videos.

High profile sport stars including Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, Lionel Messi and Tiger Woods have also been targeted in videos with them appearing to endorse products, carry out interviews or say things they never really said.

But CEO of Crime Stoppers International and Founder of SocialProtect Shane Britten previously told News Corp that women and indigenous athletes were more likely to be subject to online abuse, threats and deepfake content.

‘On average, the top level female athletes we’ve seen will get what we would call a rape threat once a week,’ he said.

‘But it’s the treatment of indigenous athletes where we as a country have got a lot to answer for. Indigenous athletes who have a substantial online presence, average more than one racially abusive comment per day.’