Mother of murdered tot James Bulger outraged at ‘sick' AI videos of her son
'It's just weird and it shouldn't be done.'
Toddler James Bulger, who was bludgeoned to death in 1993
The mother of murdered toddler James Bulger has branded AI videos of her son as 'absolutely disgusting.'
AI-generated videos depicting the two-year-old talking about his fatal abduction surfaced on TikTok.
The video showed a child telling the story of James' brutal murder in the first person.
A spokesperson for the social media app said that videos flagged by the BBC had been removed for violating its rules.
"We do not allow harmful AI-generated content on our platform and we proactively find 96% of content that breaks these rules before it is reported to us,' they said in a statement to the broadcaster.
Bulger's mother, Denise Fergus, said she thought existing AI laws do not do enough to force online platforms to take down harmful content and prevent AI from being used to depict murder victims.
"It's just words at the moment, they should be acting on it,' she told the BBC, adding that the AI videos of her son were 'absolutely disgusting.'
She also said that those posting them to social media 'don't understand how much they're hurting people.'
'It plays on your mind. It's something that you can't get away from. When you see that image, it stays with you.'
"We go on social media and the person that's no longer with us is there, talking to us. How sick is that?
"It's just corrupt. It's just weird and it shouldn't be done,' she added.
Under the UK's Online Safety Act, such videos are considered illegal and should be removed from platforms, but Ms Fergus is urging for stronger laws to clamp down on deepfake videos of child murder victims.
She met with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood to discuss the issue.
The toddler was abducted from the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, Merseyside in February 1993.
He was taken by two ten-year-olds Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, who brought the little boy to a railway track four kilometres away before torturing and killing him.
The tragic case sparked outrage, and his killers became the youngest convicted murderers in modern British history.
Both were handed down an indefinite sentence and remained behind bars until they were granted life-long parole at the age of 18.
Venables was returned to prison in 2010 for breaching the terms of his licence and was rereleased in 2013.
Jon Venables (left) and Robert Thompson, who were given new identities after the murder of James Bulger
Less than four years later in 2017 he was returned to prison for possession of child sex abuse images, where he remains.
Venables has made numerous bids for parole, with his last one rejected in 2023.
'After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made while in custody and on licence, and the evidence presented in the dossier, the panel was not satisfied that release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public,' the board's decision read.
'It noted the risks as set out above, doubted Mr Venables' ability to be open and honest with professionals, and concluded that there remained a need for him to address outstanding levels of risk, and to develop his relationship with his probation officer.'
Robert Thompson is not known to have reoffended and is now living under a new identity.
Venebles also lives under an assumed name.
A court order has banned anyone from revealing their new identities.
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