Latest news with #BreeSmith
Daily Mail
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
TV meteorologist shaken after sultry video of 'herself' makes rounds on the internet in chilling new craze
A beloved former Nashville meteorologist is speaking out after discovering lifelike deepfake pornographic videos of herself online - a chilling violation that left her shaken and humiliated. 'I cry myself to sleep most nights... mostly because I don't want my kids to see me,' Bree Smith, 43, said in an emotional interview with CBS News. The mother and former NewsChannel 5 weather anchor found her face digitally pasted onto another woman's body in explicit content, with AI-generated audio perfectly mimicking her voice. The disturbing videos are part of a fast-growing trend of digital impersonation fueled by artificial intelligence. The content, shared through fake social media accounts, has been used in sextortion schemes targeting Smith's fans. Smith's nightmare began with a simple email. 'I got an email from someone saying "Bree, I think you should know that there is an impersonator," she recalled. What she discovered next was worse than she imagined - dozens of convincing fake accounts using her image and AI-altered voice to scam unsuspecting followers. In one AI-generated video, Smith appears to speak directly to the viewer in what looks like a newsroom, saying, 'Yes dear, it is me, it is really me.' The video is completely fake - but eerily real in sound, tone and expression. Watching it back, Smith said: 'I mean you're basically taking someone's identity and you're weaponizing them.' 'These imposters are trying to take my story, and my story is mine,' she said. 'This is my life. I'm 43 years old and I have worked hard and I have loved well, and I'm not going to just roll over and take this.' In one case, she said a viewer received a few fake videos in which it appeared Smith 'promised many sexual acts and asked the viewer to send them money to book a two-night stay at the Conrad Hotel.' By doing so, those social media users 'violated me and they preyed on Tennesseans,' Smith said. When she then reached out to WTVF, where she formerly worked, she claims she was 'told that nothing could be done - it was not illegal and I had no recourse.' 'I felt humiliated and scared,' Smith recounted. 'I didn't know what to do or how to fight it and I didn't know how to protect the viewers and the people that trusted me online from being subject to this kind of extortion.' WTVF station manager Richard Eller has since told the Tennessean the station 'wholeheartedly' shares her frustrations as he explained how staff tried to stop the imposters. 'We did everything in our power to help her, seeking expert advice to make sure we were doing all we could,' he said. 'We exhausted our options with the social media platforms to try to get them to take action, reported the situation to Metro Police and launched an investigation through our corporate security team. Nothing worked.' The whole situation wound up being 'very degrading' for Smith, who said it caused her to face a 'very dark depression. 'Having my face, my reputation and my identity distorted into something so vile and vulnerable traumatized me and my family,' Smith told lawmakers. 'This has devastated my life's work,' she added, saying she became a meteorologist 'because I believed that I could help people. 'I believed that when severe weather was happening, I could save people's lives,' Smith explained. 'So to then have my face, my reputation, the trust this community put in me now being weaponized, to hurt the very people I spent my career trying to protect? I mean it essentially, it stole what I worked so hard to create and put me in an impossible place where now I was the threat to the people I spent my career protecting.' Since leaving her role at the news station, Smith has taken it upon herself to fight back. She's begun tracking the impersonators, compiling a spreadsheet of the fraudulent accounts using her image. 'This is a Google Sheet, only a week old, and in a week there are 24 [different accounts]. And I don't catch all of them,' she explained. Her experience reflects a broader, deeply alarming trend. According to the FBI, more than 50,000 Americans were targeted by sextortion schemes in the past year, with the most common victims being teenage boys. But experts say adults, especially public figures, are increasingly in the crosshairs. 'These offenders, their whole game is to make money,' Hayley Elizondo, who investigates sextortion crimes at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said. 'I'm not surprised that we are seeing adults also become the target of financial sextortion. Frankly, they're going to reach out to those who can pay them.' For Smith, the trauma is still raw - but so is her resolve. She's now working with lawmakers and advocacy groups to protect others from suffering the same fate. 'I'm not going to be silent,' she said. Last month, the Tennessee legislature has passed the Preventing Deepfake Images Act following emotional testimony from the Nashville-based meteorologist. The bill, HB 1299/SB 1346, passed in the Senate on April 15 and passed in the House on Monday, April 21. The legislation now creates civil and criminal actions for individuals who are the subject of an intimate digital depiction that is disclosed without the person's consent. Smith testified at the Tennessee House Criminal Justice Subcommittee and shared her experience of finding her face edited onto other people's semi-nude bodies. 'We don't get to choose the traumatic things that happen in our lives, but we do get to choose what we do with it,' Smith said.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ex-TV meteorologist fights deepfakes after her image was doctored in scams
For nearly a decade, Bree Smith was a familiar face in Nashville. But, in January, the mom and former TV meteorologist stopped appearing on the local CBS-affiliated station — a decision she made after months of fighting against deepfakes, which are simulated online images or videos that can seem realistic. In Smith's case, an image of her was doctored to create explicit pictures and videos, with her face edited onto different, partly nude bodies, and then used to try to extort money from others. "Sextortion" scams like this one have targeted tens of thousands of Americans in the past year alone, according to the FBI. "I cry myself to sleep most nights, mostly because I don't want my kids to see me," said Smith, who is 43. She recalled first learning about the images in an email, which included a screen grab of an exchange between the sender and an "impersonator" posing as the doctored version of her on the internet. The deepfakes quickly multiplied, accompanying offers for private dinners and intimate acts in exchange for hundreds of dollars, and targeting anyone who might recognize Smith. She began to keep track of new accounts using the deepfake in a Google spreadsheet — and added 24 over the course of just one week, among hundreds that she says have emerged online. A fabricated video also surfaced where a deepfake claims to be Smith. "You're basically taking someone's identity," she said. "You're weaponizing them." Smith has become a vocal advocate for regulations that could empower sextortion victims to fight back against their offenders. And last week, a bill Smith backed passed in the Tennessee Senate. The bill, called the "Preventing Deepfake Images Act," was sent to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who is expected to sign it into law. It provides a path for people targeted by sextortion scams to sue if images of them are shared without their consent. "These imposters are trying to take my story, and my story is mine," Smith said. "This is my life. I'm 43 years old and I have worked hard and I have loved well, and I'm not going to just roll over and take this." She said "defining it as illegal is a critical first step," but that work still needs to be done, such as figuring out how to stop it and hold people accountable. As the bill worked its way through the Tennessee legislature, Smith appeared last month before the Tennessee House Criminal Justice Subcommittee to share her experience with deepfakes and the ways in which the scam has impacted her and her family. In her testimony to lawmakers, she said deepfake accounts pretending to be her have shown up on Facebook and Instagram, in quantities too large for her to find and report as an individual person, CBS News affiliate WSMV reported. "I try my best to catch the imposters and block them, but like I said, there have been hundreds of them. It's like whack a mole, they just appear everywhere," Smith told lawmakers. "I'm just supposed to look at them and say, 'nothing we can do, bud?'" There were over 34,000 victims of sextortion in 2023, according to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. That number climbed to more than 54,000 victims last year. The FBI said financial sextortion, which differs from typical sextortion as it involves an offender threatening to release explicit material unless a payment is met, has been on the rise in the U.S. and targeting minors. Hayley Elizondo, who tracks sextortion crimes at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said financial gain is the perpetrators' primary goal. "These offenders, their whole game is to make money," she said. "I'm not surprised that we are seeing adults also become the target of financial sextortion. Frankly, they're going to reach out to those who can pay them." Officials say the most important thing for people to do if they think they are a victim of deepfakes is to report them. "If you come across deepfake content that involves you or someone you know, report it to the platform hosting the content," says the National Cybersecurity Alliance, a nonprofit organization. "This can help in having it removed or investigated, limiting its potential reach." The organization also advises reporting it to federal law enforcement, which can be done through the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Kristi Noem says if Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to U.S. we'd "immediately deport him again" Sneak peek: The Bathtub Murder of Kendy Howard Extended interview: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on deportations involving children and more
CBS News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Former TV meteorologist fights deepfakes after her image was doctored in sextortion scams
For nearly a decade, Bree Smith was a familiar face in Nashville. But, in January, the mom and former TV meteorologist stopped appearing on the local CBS-affiliated station — a decision she made after months of fighting against deepfakes, which are simulated online images or videos that can seem realistic. In Smith's case, an image of her was doctored to create explicit pictures and videos, with her face edited onto different, partly nude bodies, and then used to try to extort money from others. "Sextortion" scams like this one have targeted tens of thousands of Americans in the past year alone, according to the FBI. "I cry myself to sleep most nights, mostly because I don't want my kids to see me," said Smith, who is 43. She recalled first learning about the images in an email, which included a screen grab of an exchange between the sender and an "impersonator" posing as the doctored version of her on the internet. The deepfakes quickly multiplied, accompanying offers for private dinners and intimate acts in exchange for hundreds of dollars, and targeting anyone who might recognize Smith. She began to keep track of new accounts using the deepfake in a Google spreadsheet — and added 24 over the course of just one week, among hundreds that she says have emerged online. A fabricated video also surfaced where a deepfake claims to be Smith. "You're basically taking someone's identity," she said. "You're weaponizing them." Smith has become a vocal advocate for regulations that could empower sextortion victims to fight back against their offenders. And last week, a bill Smith backed passed in the Tennessee Senate. The bill, called the "Preventing Deepfake Images Act," was sent to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who is expected to sign it into law. It provides a path for people targeted by sextortion scams to sue if images of them are shared without their consent. "These imposters are trying to take my story, and my story is mine," Smith said. "This is my life. I'm 43 years old and I have worked hard and I have loved well, and I'm not going to just roll over and take this." She said "defining it as illegal is a critical first step," but that work still needs to be done, such as figuring out how to stop it and hold people accountable. As the bill worked its way through the Tennessee legislature, Smith appeared last month before the Tennessee House Criminal Justice Subcommittee to share her experience with deepfakes and the ways in which the scam has impacted her and her family. In her testimony to lawmakers, she said deepfake accounts pretending to be her have shown up on Facebook and Instagram, in quantities too large for her to find and report as an individual person, CBS News affiliate WSMV reported. "I try my best to catch the imposters and block them, but like I said, there have been hundreds of them. It's like whack a mole, they just appear everywhere," Smith told lawmakers. "I'm just supposed to look at them and say, 'nothing we can do, bud?'" There were over 34,000 victims of sextortion in 2023, according to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. That number climbed to more than 54,000 victims last year. The FBI said financial sextortion, which differs from typical sextortion as it involves an offender threatening to release explicit material unless a payment is met, has been on the rise in the U.S. and targeting minors. Hayley Elizondo, who tracks sextortion crimes at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said financial gain is the perpetrators' primary goal. "These offenders, their whole game is to make money," she said. "I'm not surprised that we are seeing adults also become the target of financial sextortion. Frankly, they're going to reach out to those who can pay them." Officials say the most important thing for people to do if they think they are a victim of deepfakes is to report them. "If you come across deepfake content that involves you or someone you know, report it to the platform hosting the content," says the National Cybersecurity Alliance, a nonprofit organization. "This can help in having it removed or investigated, limiting its potential reach." The organization also advises reporting it to federal law enforcement, which can be done through the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
Former TV meteorologist battles AI sextortion scam
A Nashville mom and former TV meteorologist says she's the victim of an online sextortion scam. Bree Smith spoke to "CBS Mornings" about how she's fighting back after her image was doctored into explicit pictures and videos for money. It's a scam the FBI says targeted tens of thousands of Americans last year.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tennessee lawmakers pass nearly 600 bills this legislative session
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Diversity, equity, and inclusion, school vouchers, and illegal immigration may have been the main focuses this legislative session, but lawmakers passed other, quieter bills that could have a big impact. The 'Preventing Deepfake Images Act' is a bipartisan bill that passed unanimously in both the House and Senate. The bill would make it a felony to share an intimate, artificial intelligence-generated image of a person without their consent and create a pathway for victims to sue. Nashville meteorologist Bree Smith testified in a House subcommittee about being the subject of such fake images and the negative impact it had on her life. 📧 Have breaking news come to you: → 'I don't know whose body my face was placed on. I don't know if it was an AI-generated body. I don't know if it was a real person. I don't know if that person gave consent,' Smith said. 'I don't even know if the body my face was placed on was a minor, and that strikes my chord as a mother. Knowing I had no recourse to stop this means I have no recourse to stop this if it happens to my kids.' A bill creating the offense of human smuggling, making it a felony to harbor, hide, or encourage someone else to harbor or hide an illegal immigrant for financial gain, passed the House and Senate along party lines. 'Most of these victims are children, and they are human smuggled and sold into sex slavery,' Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) said. 'We ought to be doing everything we can to try to catch these kids before they are sold into sex slavery.' During the final Senate floor vote, Democrats said they were worried about potential, unintended consequences. 'I'm also concerned about the average farmer who might have someone in their district. They might do seasonal farming work, they might live on the property, and they could be guilty of a felony,' Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) said. 'I think that it is a bit of a stretch to say that someone who may employ someone who is undocumented, which is one thing, to say that they also potentially would have no problem sex trafficking a child. That is a big difference.' A bill to further protect gun manufacturers and dealers from civil lawsuits passed the House and Senate. Republicans argued these lawsuits threaten the jobs of the more than 8,000 Tennesseans employed by these gun companies. 'The nation of Mexico has currently filed suit against Smith & Wesson and other domestic manufacturers. They're blaming them for the violence they have in Mexico, which I find ironic, but our manufacturing jobs are at risk to these vicious types of lawsuits,' Rep. Monty Fritts (R-Kingston) said. 'I just struggle to be okay with allowing corporations to be immune from the citizens being able to get justice for a bad product,' Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) said. ⏩ Lawmakers filed almost 3,000 bills this legislative session and passed nearly 600 bills. Gov. Bill Lee has already signed several. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
