Deepfakes Targeting Women in Politics Draw EU Hearing
A European Parliament committee hearing examined sexual deepfakes used to discredit women in public life.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Women’s Issues
Live Poll
Do you think online attacks are driving women away from politics and public life?
The European Parliament's special committee on the European Democracy Shield held a public hearing on November 3, addressing non-consensual sexual deepfakes used to discredit women in public life. The hearing was held during European Gender Equality Week.
Why it matters
Research presented at the hearing found female Members of the European Parliament are 33 times more likely than male MEPs to be targeted by sexual deepfakes. The committee chair described sexist disinformation as an instrument of political repression.
Female MEPs are 33 times more likely than male MEPs to be targeted by sexual deepfakes, according to research presented to the committee. The research identified 50 Members of the European Parliament affected, including 46 women and four men, and the total number of MEPs in the study population is not stated.
The players
Nathalie Loiseau
Loiseau chairs the European Democracy Shield special committee, which held the hearing.
Carlien Scheele
Scheele is Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), which is developing data collection standards on this violence.
European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)
EIGE is the EU agency working on gender equality data and is preparing common methods and indicators to harmonise administrative data on this violence across Member States.
The details
Speakers described a digital ecosystem linking sites that collect photographs of public figures, applications that generate artificial nude images, and services that earn revenue from distributing them. The European Institute for Gender Equality is preparing common methods and indicators to harmonise collection of administrative data on this violence across Member States.
Timeline
November 3, 2026: Public hearing held by the European Parliament's special committee on the European Democracy Shield.
Health Landscape
The hearing extends the European Institute for Gender Equality's ongoing effort to standardise administrative data on violence against women into digital sexual abuse. Carlien Scheele urged joint application of the Digital Services Act and the EU Directive on combating violence against women, linking the issue to existing EU enforcement frameworks.
Speakers called for better enforcement of existing rules rather than new legislation, which may shape how platforms handle deepfake content. The researcher proposed preventing search engines from indexing content already removed and targeting the financial infrastructure supporting this activity.
The takeaway
Speakers at the hearing argued that existing EU rules, including the Digital Services Act and the Directive on combating violence against women, should be enforced jointly before new legislation is considered. Attention to how deepfakes are used to silence women in public life is increasing across European institutions.
Further reading
Explore more coverage in Women's Issues.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Agence Europe.
Live Poll
Do you think online attacks are driving women away from politics and public life?
