Deepfakes weaponised to target Pakistan's women leaders

They can undermine reputations in a country with poor media literacy and conservative mores

LAHORE, Pakistan - Pakistani politician Azma Bukhari is haunted by a counterfeit image of herself - a sexualised deepfake video published to discredit her role as one of the nation's few female leaders.

"I was shattered when it came to my knowledge," said Ms Bukhari, 48, Information Minister of Pakistan's most populous province of Punjab.

Deepfakes - which manipulate genuine audio, photos or video of people into false likenesses - are becoming increasingly convincing and easier to make as artificial intelligence (AI) enters the mainstream.

In Pakistan, where media literacy is poor, they are being weaponised to smear women in the public sphere with sexual innuendo deeply damaging to their reputations in a country with conservative mores.

Ms Bukhari - who regularly appears on TV - recalls going quiet for days after she saw the video of her face superimposed on the sexualised body of an Indian actor in a clip quickly spreading on social media.

"It was very difficult. I was depressed," she said. "My daughter, she hugged me and said, 'Mama, you have to fight it out'."

After initially recoiling, she is pressing her case at Lahore's High Court, attempting to hold those who spread the deepfake to account.

"When I go to the court, I have to remind people again and again that I have a fake video," she said.