TikTok axes vile videos of child victims after Express investigation
TIKTOK has been criticised for hosting sickening artificial intelligence representations of murdered and missing children, including Madeleine McCann and Baby P.
Through the social media user account Here Is My Story, millions of users have watched AI animated versions of dead children describing terrible abuse they suffered.
After being made aware of the content by Express.co.uk, TikTok immediately took down the channel.
In one video, a computer-generated 17-month-old Peter Connelly, also known as Baby P, stares directly at the viewer as he describes being tortured and murdered by his stepfather in Haringey, North London.
At the start of the sick four-minute video, the AI character of Peter says in an artificially created child’s voice: “I had my nails ripped off by my neoNazi stepfather.” It goes on to describe further shocking abuse.
His is one of many gruesome videos uploaded to the Here Is My Story account. The majority feature dead celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, pop star Prince, and Princess Diana telling their life stories.
But there is also a significant number of videos with AI representations of murdered children describing the crimes against them in detail.
These include AI animations of Brianna Lopez, an American child who was abused by her mother, father and uncle and JonBenet Ramsey, a sixyear-old found murdered in her parents’ basement. Madeleine McCann, who was three when she went missing in 2007, is also featured. Her fate is unknown and British police have for years treated her disappearance as a missing person case.
All the video descriptions include the disclaimer, not always easy to see: “This video is made using AI. This is a representation and not a photo out of respect for the family. The goal is to share this story in an immersive way.”
The identity of who exactly is making and distributing the content is unclear. There are multiple YouTube accounts with some of the same videos, with no way to trace them.
Imran Ahmed, of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, said he was shocked by the content.
“These videos are hard to watch, especially those featuring crude AI renderings of murdered and missing children,” he said. “It will sicken people that TikTok seeks to profit from this kind of invasive, disrespectful content.
“TikTok has proven time and time again that it’s happy to be flooded with content that appals – just as it is with suicide, self-harm and eating disorder videos targeted at kids – as long as it’s making money from the attention this trash generates.
“They are accountable to nobody – not to parents, to viewers, to the families of victims, not even the British Government or police.We need to put an end to abuses by social media companies by enacting a comprehensive Online Safety Bill.”
The Chinese-owned social media giant has been consistently dogged by allegations it promotes pro-Beijing views and passes user data to the Chinese government.
In March, Oliver Dowden, now Deputy Prime Minister, banned the video-sharing app from Government devices. The measure was taken because of “risks around how sensitive information could be accessed and used”, he said.
A TikTok spokesman said: “TikTok is a space for creative expression with no place for this type of content.
“We have over 40,000 safety professionals dedicated to keeping TikTok safe.”