For Luis DeSantiago, it began with a few text messages. On March 12, while working a part-time job at a coffee shop in Los Banos, California, the former substitute teacher’s phone lit up. A fellow barista told him that AI-generated images were circulating on social media. Her cousin wanted to know whether the person pictured was DeSantiago.
At first, DeSantiago was not overly concerned. He assumed that sexually explicit images violated TikTok’s community guidelines and would be removed quickly.
“When I finally saw that image, it felt like I was punched in the gut,” DeSantiago told WIRED. Some of the images resembled mirror selfies he remembered taking in college. But in the altered versions, he was wearing lingerie instead of everyday clothing and posed suggestively rather than standing normally.
That message marked the beginning of a month-long ordeal involving students and administrators at two schools. DeSantiago is also not the only educator to experience this kind of abuse.
WIRED spoke with three other teachers who said their students created sexually explicit images and videos of them, possibly with the help of AI tools. The educators described the incidents as deeply distressing and disappointing. In some cases, the experiences caused them to reconsider their careers and their relationships with students.
“Other students may also be included.”
After receiving the text, DeSantiago began investigating who might have created and shared the images. One account that posted the image used its owner’s real name on TikTok. The account belonged to a student DeSantiago knew from a local middle school where he regularly worked as a substitute teacher. Based on the account’s followers and interactions, as well as his knowledge of the student’s friend group, DeSantiago suspected that two other students may have been involved. He was scheduled to work at the middle school the following day.
DeSantiago reported the incident to the vice principal, who promised that the school would “take action.” Later that night, he searched his name on TikTok and discovered that another student had created an account impersonating him. The account used his name with a slight misspelling and featured the same profile photo he used.
Over the next several weeks, DeSantiago communicated with school administrators, the student’s parents, and the police.
“If I am not afraid of my students creating and posting images of me, I am concerned about what they are disseminating privately through text messages and group chats,” DeSantiago wrote in a letter to the principal. “Please note that this may include other students as well.”
One student who admitted creating the image was suspended. DeSantiago was later told that the image had also been shared on Snapchat. However, he said it continued to spread, with additional students reposting it. He also received vulgar and sexually suggestive comments on his TikTok account.
DeSantiago told school administrators that he did not want to accept middle school assignments “until this issue is fully resolved.” The school district did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
He later accepted a substitute teaching position at a local high school, but the harassment continued. During one class, he received an AirDropped copy of the same AI-generated image, though the transfer was quickly canceled. DeSantiago said it was clear that the image had circulated widely among students in the classroom.
The principal told DeSantiago that the school was launching an “immediate investigation” and offered to meet with him or arrange support from a school counselor. DeSantiago said he likely would not return to the district for the remainder of the school year.
He told WIRED that he does not feel safe doing so—at least not yet.
“You begin to doubt everything.”
The nonconsensual distribution of fake nude images of real people may constitute cyberstalking and may violate the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act, which makes it a crime to publish “intimate visual depictions of individuals (real or computer-generated)” online without their consent.
In most of the cases shared with WIRED, the teachers did not report the content directly to the platforms where it appeared. Snap spokesperson Monique Bellamy pointed to the company’s policies on harassment and sexual content. The policies prohibit sharing AI-generated or manipulated content intended to humiliate or sexually harass another person. Bellamy told WIRED that Snap has “established processes” for reporting this material and continues to “develop features and tools designed to support the safety, privacy, and well-being of our community.” TikTok did not comment before publication.
Source: www.wired.com