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Naga Munchetty warns fake nudes of her spread online by scammers

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7 minutes ago

February 7, 2025

Naga Munchetty warns fake nudes of her spread online by scammers

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Naga Munchetty has change into the newest celeb to be focused in a sexually express rip-off.

The veteran BBC presenter, 49, found paid ads on X/Twitter and Fb promoted to “trick folks out of their hard-earned cash” and embrace “crudely mocked-up” pretend nude pictures of her.

Munchetty, who carried out an investigation into the pictures together with her workforce at BBC 5 Stay, stated she was “mortified and bemused” to find the specific content material that any person had paid “good cash” to promote.

“I am used to seeing deceptive articles about myself on-line, however the screenshots I have been despatched by associates and followers on social media in latest weeks are much more insidious than most,” she stated.

After questioning the wrongdoer’s motive, the previous Strictly Come Dancing contestant puzzled whether or not the individual accountable had “an axe to grind”.

“I mentioned it with my 5 Stay manufacturing workforce, and we started to dig into it extra. It quickly grew to become obvious that my identify and picture had been being utilized by scammers to attempt to hoodwink folks out of cash,” she stated.

Customers clicking on the adverts had been taken to a pretend information article, which had been constructed to incorporate the BBC emblem and look just like the broadcaster’s web site, Munchetty defined.

Naga Munchetty has warned pretend nude photographs of her are being circulated on-line by scammers (Getty Pictures)

“The pretend article about me urged I had been detained by the federal government following a ‘controversial”interview on ITV’s This Morning, the place I allegedly gave particulars a few “profitable loophole” to become profitable,” she stated.

“It was made to appear like a BBC Information article, full with emblem and branding, and it contained hyperlinks to a rip-off cyber buying and selling web site, which has now been taken down after my manufacturing workforce reported it to the BBC authorized workforce.

”The presenter stated she was “fortunate” that the BBC’s authorized division was in a position to act shortly to get the adverts taken down resulting from copyright legal guidelines, however added she was warned “one other web site is prone to pop up quickly sufficient”.

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Munchetty added that getting adverts faraway from X/Twitter, which was taken over by Elon Musk in 2022, has “change into harder because it modified possession”.

The Unbiased has contacted representatives from X/Twitter for remark.

Naga Munchetty on BBC Five Live — Naga Munchetty on BBC 5 Stay (PA)

A Meta spokeswoman stated: “Individuals who impersonate others on Fb and Instagram violate our insurance policies, and we take away this content material when it’s discovered — like we’re doing on this case.

“We proceed to spend money on know-how to enhance our detection and enforcement in opposition to scams and work with regulation enforcement to prosecute scammers.”

Munchetty just isn’t the one celeb to have been focused with one of these rip-off. Cash Saving Knowledgeable Martin Lewis beforehand warned his face had been used to entrance a cryptocurrency fraud.

Final June, Euphoria star Jacob Elordi additionally had pretend nude content material of him circulated on-line in a sexually express AI deepfake rip-off. The non-consensual video was considered on X/Twitter greater than three million instances.

Lately, non-consensual sexually express deepfakes have change into more and more frequent on-line, with a variety of high-profile girls together with Taylor Swift and Megan Thee Stallion focused.

Martin Lewis has previously warned his face was being used as part of a cryptocurrency fraud — Martin Lewis has beforehand warned his face was getting used as a part of a cryptocurrency fraud (Getty)

Deepfakes are created or altered utilizing synthetic intelligence or comparable know-how, and manipulated to switch one individual’s likeness convincingly with that of one other.

Nonconsensual sexually express movies that “swap” an individual’s face right into a pornographic video are probably the most prevalent types of deepfakes.

Since April 2023, X has carried out a coverage in opposition to sharing “artificial, manipulated, or out-of-context media which will deceive or confuse folks and result in hurt.”

The platform additionally prohibits content material that “sexualises a person with out their consent.” However regardless of the coverage, deepfakes have endured on X, with the corporate struggling to stamp them out.