The resources have been published by the NSPCC’s Childline and include an information guide and a new film aimed at young people and featuring an AI-generated image challenge.
During 2023/24, Childline provided more than 900 counselling sessions for young people relating to blackmail or threats to share sexual images online.
The campaign – entitled Behind the Screen – warns: “Some young people were being exorted for money after someone they’d met online threatened to release sexual images or videos of them, including ‘fake nudes’ created by the offenders.”
It adds: “With this campaign we specifically want boys and young men to know that it is okay to reach out and that Childline is a place for them.”
The guide (linked below) is for anyone working or volunteering with young people. It covers what sexually coerced extortion is, how to spot it, and how to support young people.
The Childline figures show that 68% of the counselling sesssions about blackmail/threats were with boys. Furthermore data from Report Remove – the NSPCC tool to help young people get nude images removed from the web – shows that “it was used significantly more by boys than girls”.
In January, SecEd’s safeguarding expert Elizabeth Rose offered advice to schools on the steps we can take to safeguard students against AI-generated deepfakes, discussing in particular the use of AI to create images of abuse.
She wrote: “There is currently little in the way of guidance for schools to support understanding of the issue from a safeguarding perspective, to provide strategies or ideas for the prevention of harm to children, or indeed ways to approach the issue in the curriculum.”
Pointing to the huge increase in the amount of AI-generated deepfake images circulating on the dark web, Ms Rose said : “It also provides opportunities for perpetrators to groom, coerce and blackmail children using AI-generated images.”
The NSPCC campaign, meanwhile, is warning that victims of sexual coercion and extortion often experience self-blame, trust issues, social isolation, and mental health issues.
They are also worried by a fear of punishment or repercussions if they come forward. The guide states: “Many of the stories that young people shared made it clear they were scared. Some told us they couldn’t tell others what had happened to them as they were afraid of what might happen. Some were afraid of disappointing or upsetting loved ones and being judged.”
One 16-year-old boy told the NSPCC how he was maniupulated after getting a message on Wizz – an app for teens to make friends. After an hour of chatting the girl asked for his number. He explained: “That’s when things started to change and her messages suddenly became flirty. She sent photos of herself semi-nude and then said it was my turn. Due to how she came across earlier I trusted her. I only sent two nudes but that was enough. She said she was going to post these nudes to all my followers unless I paid her £100.”
The NSPCC’s fake or real film challenge is available on YouTube (see below). Entitled “Leng or Liar”, it has been produced with social media personalities WhyDee and Kay The Jeweller. The duo engage in conversation with three different people and try to decipher which are real and which are fake.
The NSPCC guide offers advice on spotting the signs of young people who have fallen victim to extortion as well as tips on how to spot fake approaches online and advice for how we can support young people.
- To download the NSPCC campaign guide, visit https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/sfzndfgn/childline-behind-the-screen-pdf-guide.pdf and you can find the film via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg7E97Yua5Q
- For information on all of the NSPCC’s campaigns and resources, visit https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/services/childline?modularPage=posters-and-campaigns