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Hingham mother speaks out over nude deepfake shared of her daughter
Hingham Public Schools reportedly did not discipline the student for creating and sharing the image.
A Hingham mother is asking for accountability after the school district allegedly failed to discipline a student for sharing an AI-generated nude photo of her daughter and another student earlier this year.
After being informed of the incident in Hingham Middle School, the student’s mother, Megan Mancini, filed a Title IX complaint with the district in January.
A response in April stated that while the “conduct was inappropriate and hurtful, there is insufficient evidence to conclude it occurred in the District’s schools.” Therefore, the student did not violate the district’s Title IX policy.
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The superintendent of Hingham Public Schools, Kathryn Roberts, also denied an appeal on June 4.
Roberts did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Deepfakes are a real thing, people, and if we don’t address this … and put policies in place, it will get worse,” Mancini said on Thursday.
Mancini also notified police of the incident. She is not pressing charges because she doesn’t believe it will lead to any substantial disciplinary action.
According to the Title IX notice of decision, sent to Boston.com, parents of the middle school student became aware of the AI-generated nude images of their daughter and another student in January. Students reportedly shared the photos with other students during school hours.
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The student depicted was made aware of the photo’s existence in the hallway between classes, the Title IX report said. The image had the name of the student who created it attached to it.
The student depicted said that several days later, she asked the student who created the photo for an apology, which he gave.
According to the report, the student who created the image admitted in a text message shared with police that he had done it in an apology. He later shared what website he used to create the images.
Mancini says not only is the offending student not being disciplined, but her family is left dealing with the problem of ensuring that this photo never resurfaces on the internet again.
All Mancini and her daughter can do is hope that the free website Take It Down, which shares the same name as the recent legislation that passed, can scrub the internet and remove any similar images that pop up, she said.
“We’re left dealing with that and picking up the pieces,” Mancini said.
Mancini’s daughter said she did not want to go to school after she found out about the nude photos, but continued anyway.
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“I’m so proud of my daughter,” Mancini said.
Mancini, who saw the picture, said it looked real and not photoshopped. She noted that it was “absolutely debilitating,” and that she “wouldn’t want to walk back into school and face people.”
She acknowledges that middle school students sometimes make poor decisions but believes the school should send a clear message that it will not tolerate such behavior.
It’s not only her daughter who is affected by this, Mancini said, and parents need to know that this is happening.
“We need better policies, and the school needs to act,” she said. “This can’t be tolerated.”
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