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High reported severity Media Coverage

Galway West, Ireland: broadcaster Gráinne Seoige says an AI-generated sexualised deepfake image of her circulated on WhatsApp while she was a candidate in the 2024 general election, leaving her deeply traumatised with recurring nightmares of being attacked; she says a Garda inquiry could not identify those responsible

Gráinne Seoige, a broadcaster who stood for Fianna Fáil in Galway West in Ireland's 2024 general election, told RTÉ's Prime Time in January 2026 that people close to her alerted her during the campaign to sexualised images of her made with deepfake technology. She says the AI-generated pornographic image was disseminated through WhatsApp, shared hundreds if not thousands of times by her account, and that when gardaí sought its origin some recipients refused to cooperate, so the investigation hit a dead end. She kept silent during the campaign and has described the experience as deeply traumatising, with shame and humiliation lasting almost a year and a half. In a September 2026 interview relayed by RSVP Live from the Sunday Independent she described night terrors of faceless men tearing her clothes off and wearing a long puffer coat everywhere so her body could not be seen. She has since appeared before the Oireachtas media committee (Irish Independent, 21 January 2026), and her Virgin Media documentary on deepfake abuse, Deepfake Ireland: The Naked Truth, was due to air the week after 27 September 2026. The tool used to make the image and the person who made it are not identified.

AI system
Unidentified image tool
Occurred
2024
Reported
14 January 2026
Event location
Ireland
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Psychological DistressExploitation or AbuseReputational Harm
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Privacy · Everyday life · Justice
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 2 underlying accounts
4 claims: 4 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: An unidentified generative-AI or deepfake tool used to make a sexualised image of a real person (described as 'made with deepfake technology' by RTÉ and as an 'AI-generated pornographic image' in her Oireachtas statement reported by the Irish Examiner); the tool and its maker are not identified

What Happened

RTÉ News reported on 14 January 2026, from Sarah McInerney's Prime Time interview, that Ms Seoige was alerted by people close to her to the circulation of sexualised deepfake images while she was standing as a candidate in the Galway West constituency in the 2024 general election, while she was canvassing daily. She called it 'the most shocking thing that's ever happened to me in my life', said she chose not to speak publicly at the time and repressed it to get on with the campaign, and said she had dealt with 'the shame and humiliation of this for almost a year and a half'. She said the image was disseminated through WhatsApp and that when gardaí became aware people had the image and sought its origin, some recipients refused to share that information. The Irish Examiner (20 January 2026) reported her prepared statement to the Oireachtas media committee: that 'the AI-generated pornographic image of me was shared hundreds, if not thousands, of times across WhatsApp', and that like other victims she was told gardaí lacked powers to identify perpetrators or compel others to do so, so her case 'hit a dead end'. RSVP Live (27 September 2026), relaying an interview she gave to the Sunday Independent before her Virgin Media documentary, reported her description of night terrors of 'faceless men coming by and just ripping my clothes off as they pass me', of a period when she wore a long puffer coat everywhere because she did not want anyone to see her body, and of receiving online abuse from men whenever she raises the issue. The sharing figure is her own estimate. The tool used, the creator and the precise dates are not reported; the event is placed in the campaign for the 2024 general election.

Reported harm

Ms Seoige says the circulation of an AI-generated sexualised image of her during her 2024 election campaign left her deeply traumatised, with lasting shame and humiliation and recurring nightmares of being attacked, and that the Garda investigation could not identify those responsible (her accounts to RTÉ Prime Time, the Oireachtas committee via the Irish Examiner, and the Sunday Independent via RSVP Live).

Outcome

Unknown

Ms Seoige says she reported the image to An Garda Síochána, that gardaí sought information about its origin, that some recipients refused to share it and that her case 'hit a dead end' (RTÉ, 14 January 2026; Irish Examiner, 20 January 2026). No arrest or charge is reported. She appeared before the Oireachtas media committee in January 2026 urging action on AI-generated sexualised deepfakes (Irish Independent, 21 January 2026; her prepared statement previewed by the Irish Examiner, 20 January 2026), and her documentary Deepfake Ireland: The Naked Truth was due to air on Virgin Media the following week (RSVP Live, 27 September 2026).

What remains unknown

  • Who made the image and with which tool.
  • The exact dates of creation and circulation within the 2024 campaign.
  • Whether any Garda investigation remains open; no arrest or charge is reported.
  • Whether she has received a clinical diagnosis: a Sunday World headline reports a PTSD diagnosis, but that article could not be read.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. RTÉ reports sexualised images of her 'made with deepfake technology'; the Irish Examiner reports her statement that 'the AI-generated pornographic image of me' was shared on WhatsApp and states that the images were created using AI. The tool and maker are unknown and no forensic finding is reported.

4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported Gráinne Seoige says that while she was a candidate in Galway West in the 2024 general election she was alerted to the circulation of sexualised images of her made with deepfake technology, that the experience was the most shocking of her life and deeply traumatising, and that she has dealt with shame and humiliation for almost a year and a half.

Causal attribution. Her own account in successive interviews and statements (one account-holder, so not independent corroboration). The creator and tool are unknown.

  • rte.ie(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Broadcaster Gráinne Seoige has said that sexualised images of her made with deepfake technology have left her deeply traumatised.'; 'Ms Seoige was alerted by people close to her of the circulation of such images while she was standing as a candidate in the Galway West constituency in the 2024 general election.'; '"I’ve had to deal with the shame and humiliation of this for almost a year and a half," she said. "It has been deeply traumatising."'
  • irishexaminer.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'During the campaign, explicit deepfake images of her were created using AI.'
Reported She says the AI-generated image was disseminated through WhatsApp, by her account shared hundreds if not thousands of times, and that when gardaí sought its origin some recipients refused to cooperate, so her case hit a dead end.

Causal attribution. Her own account; the sharing figure is her estimate. No Garda statement was read.

  • rte.ie(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Ms Seoige said the image of her was disseminated through WhatsApp, owned by Meta, and that when gardaí became aware people were in possession of the image, they sought information about its origin.'; 'Rather than cooperate, she said, some recipients refused to share that information.'
  • irishexaminer.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Ms Seoige will say that her case “hit a dead end” and “even though the AI-generated pornographic image of me was shared hundreds, if not thousands, of times across WhatsApp'
Reported In a September 2026 interview she described night terrors of faceless men tearing her clothes off and a period when she wore a long puffer coat everywhere so that nobody could see her body.

Causal attribution. Her own account, relayed by RSVP from a Sunday Independent interview that was not itself read.

  • rsvplive.ie(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Grainne Seoige has told of experiencing nightmares of being attacked after AI deepfake images of her circulated online.'; 'The Galway native often had night terrors of "faceless men coming by and just ripping my clothes off as they pass me."'; '"I went through a period where I just wore a long puffer coat everywhere I went.'
Reported In January 2026 she appeared before an Oireachtas committee and urged TDs and senators to act against AI-generated sexualised deepfakes.

Causal attribution. The Irish Independent report of her appearance (headline and opening read); the Examiner item is a preview of her prepared statement.

  • independent.ie(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'What we know after Gráinne Seoige appears before Oireachtas committee urging action on sexualised AI deepfakes'; 'Gráinne Seoige has urged TDs and senators to act against AI-generated sexualised deepfakes'
  • irishexaminer.com(opens in new tab) context · English
    'The creation and dissemination of deepfake explicit images will be the “abuse scandal of the 21st century if we do not act now”, television presenter Gráinne Seoige is set to tell TDs and senators.'

Sources

4 sources inspected, from 2 underlying accounts. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

rte.ie returned 403 on 2026-09-28; read in full through the Internet Archive id_ capture. Report of her Prime Time interview (13 January 2026 edition). Applies to s1.

Read live on 2026-09-28 (20 January 2026). Reports her prepared statement to the Oireachtas media committee; the committee transcript was not read. Applies to s2.

rsvplive.ie returned 202 with an empty body; the same article (RSVP, Michelle Townsend, 27 September 2026) was read in full through the MSN content API. It relays her interview with the Sunday Independent, which was not readable (independent.ie 403, Archive 404). Applies to s3.

independent.ie returned 403 on 2026-09-28; the headline and opening paragraph (Maeve McTaggart, 21 January 2026) were read through a reader relay by the second researcher (bodies/verify-seoige-indo-oireachtas.txt); the remainder is paywalled and was not read. Separate group: the paper's own report of her committee appearance, used only for that fact. Applies to s4.

Event countries: Ireland. Affected-person countries: Ireland. Court countries: Unknown.

The image circulated while she was a candidate in the Galway West constituency in the 2024 Irish general election and she reported it to An Garda Síochána (RTÉ; Irish Examiner). RSVP calls her a Galway native. No court proceedings are reported.

Reviewed for publication 2026-09-28: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case (an AI-generated sexualised image depicting a real person). Ms Seoige, a public figure, has described her own experience on the record in several interviews and to an Oireachtas committee; the account is hers and the creator is unidentified. No sexual imagery is described beyond its nature.

People described

Gráinne Seoige, an Irish broadcaster and Fianna Fáil candidate in Galway West at the 2024 general election, speaking publicly about her own experience

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One depicted person, Gráinne Seoige, who describes her own experience (RTÉ; Irish Examiner; RSVP Live). The other victims she says she has spoken to are separate experiences and are not counted. Exact 1.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#deepfakes#non-consensual-intimate-imagery#ireland#galway#election#whatsapp#public-figure

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Galway West, Ireland: broadcaster Gráinne Seoige says an AI-generated sexualised deepfake image of her circulated on WhatsApp while she was a candidate in the 2024 general election, leaving her deeply traumatised with recurring nightmares of being attacked; she says a Garda inquiry could not identify those responsible. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2024-seoige-ai-deepfake-sexual-image-galway-west-election

BibTeX

@misc{2024_seoige_ai_deepfake_sexual_image_galway_west_election,
  title = {Galway West, Ireland: broadcaster Gráinne Seoige says an AI-generated sexualised deepfake image of her circulated on WhatsApp while she was a candidate in the 2024 general election, leaving her deeply traumatised with recurring nightmares of being attacked; she says a Garda inquiry could not identify those responsible},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2024-seoige-ai-deepfake-sexual-image-galway-west-election}
}

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