Analysis of around 160 websites hosting deepfake abuse and other nonconsensual sexual content has found that at least 138 women MPs from 22 EU countries have appeared or been named on such sites, compared with just nine male MPs. Researcher Benjamin Shultz, of the American Sunlight Project and German think tank Agora Digitale Transformation, calculated that women MPs are 33 times more likely to be targeted, a finding he and affected politicians say exposes the scale of a broader pattern of online intimidation aimed at women in public life. Lawmakers and researchers warn the abuse risks discouraging women from entering or remaining in politics, causing lasting psychological and reputational harm.

Shultz compiled details of more than 5,800 MPs across all 27 EU countries in July and used custom search tools to trace their presence across the deepfake sites, finding politicians from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and France targeted most, with more senior figures at greater risk. Many site pages combined MPs' names, official photos and personal or social media details with links to "nudifier" tools capable of generating explicit images in a few clicks, which Shultz says is as harmful as hosting the content itself. He has notified affected MPs individually with removal guidance; WIRED withheld the site names to avoid drawing further traffic to them.