How to Explain Deepfakes to a Teenager

What a deepfake actually is

A deepfake is media, usually a photo or a short video, that AI made up but that looks real. It used to take real skill and a lot of images. Now there are apps and websites that will do it from a single normal photo in a few seconds, and that's what made this such a big problem.

Fake videos aren't new, but now they're easy and cheap to make and good enough to fool a quick glance, which means anyone with one photo of your kid can make one.

What kids are doing at school now

Most of us think of the funny fake videos of politicians and celebrities. What's actually happening in middle schools and high schools right now is a kid taking a normal photo of a classmate, a school picture or an Instagram post or anything at all, and running it through an app that turns it into a fake nude image of them.

It's happening to real kids, mostly girls, and it hurts in a specific way, because even though the picture is fake, it's humiliating and scary for the kid in it, and it spreads before anyone can stop it. That's the kind of deepfake I'd want my kid to know about.

What to say, before it comes up

You want to be the one who brings this up first, calmly, when nothing is wrong. Something like this:

"There's an AI thing I want you to know about before you run into it. People can take a normal photo of someone, anyone, and use an app to make a fake nude picture of them that looks real. It's fake, but it looks real enough to fool people, and it's happening to kids your age.

I'm telling you for two reasons. One, if you ever see one of someone you know, you don't share it, screenshot it or save it, and you tell me, because sharing it hurts the kid in it even more. And two, if it ever happens to you, I need you to know right now, before it ever happens, that it's not your fault and you're not in trouble. You just come to me."

If it happens to your kid

First, stay calm on the outside, even if you're not calm inside, because your kid is watching your face to figure out how bad this is. It's not their fault, and they need to hear you say that first, before anything else.

Before anything gets deleted, write down the names, the links and where it showed up, because that's the evidence, but don't screenshot or save the picture itself, since a copy of a sexual image of a minor is illegal to keep even when it's fake. Report it to NCMEC's CyberTipline and use their Take It Down tool to get it removed. Sharing a fake explicit image of a minor is a federal crime in the US now under the Take It Down Act, and the sites it's on have to take it down within 48 hours of a report, so this is something you can take to the school and to the police. And get your kid real support, because this is scary and embarrassing for them, and it's a lot to carry alone.

What to say if your kid made or shared one

Some kids do this as a joke, or because a friend did, without really understanding what it is. That doesn't make it okay, and the conversation has to be honest about that.

"I know it might have felt like a joke, or like everyone was doing it. It's not a joke to the kid in that picture, and it's a crime, even for a kid, even if it's fake. That picture can follow a real person around and really hurt them. I'm not mad, I just want to understand why you did it, because how you handle something like this says a lot about who you are and who we are as a family."

What age should I talk to my kid about deepfakes?

Around the time they get a phone or get on social media, so usually middle school. You don't need to give a young kid the graphic version, but a kid who is online with their real photo is old enough to hear that fake images are a thing and that they can always come to you.

Is making a deepfake illegal?

Making or sharing a fake nude picture of a kid can be. In the US, sharing a fake explicit image of a minor is a federal crime under the Take It Down Act, and a lot of states have their own laws on top of that. Schools can treat it as serious harassment too. So yes, it can carry real consequences, even when a kid did it.

What do I do if my kid is targeted?

First, tell them clearly that it isn't their fault. Before anything gets deleted, write down the links, the names and where it appeared, but don't screenshot the picture itself. Then report it to NCMEC's CyberTipline, the school and the police, and use NCMEC's Take It Down tool to get it removed. And make sure they have real support, because this is scary and embarrassing for them.

How do I bring it up without terrifying them?

I'd bring it up like a heads up, just telling them this is something that exists, and that if it ever happens to them, they come to you and they're not in trouble. Kids handle the truth a lot better than finding out later that you knew and didn't tell them.