Psychologist and Osvitoria expert Kateryna Holtsberg reported on mass cases of «digital terror» against teachers in Ukrainian schools.
Psychologist and Osvitoria expert Kateryna Holtsberg reported on mass cases of «digital terror» against teachers in Ukrainian schools.
«In recent weeks, the Ukrainian educational space has been shaken by a wave of new technologically advanced bullying. Videos are appearing en masse on TikTok, where teachers' faces are superimposed on humiliating, pornographic, or absurd stories using artificial intelligence. What started as isolated „jokes“ by individual students has turned into a large-scale campaign to devalue teachers,» she noted in her Facebook post.
According to the psychologist, if previously student photoshopping was limited to unsuccessful photos from class or offensive captions, today technology allows you to create deepfakes, and students use this en masse.
At the same time, teachers, she says, are depicted in videos where the teacher allegedly chants anti-state slogans, dances inappropriately, or finds himself in humiliating situations.
«Why is this dangerous? TikTok algorithms pick up scandalous content, instantly spreading it to thousands of views. Authors often use empty accounts, which creates the illusion of impunity,» the expert adds.
Kateryna Holzberg admits that the current situation may be part of a large-scale hostile campaign to discredit Ukrainian teachers, aimed at Ukrainian students.
«Many experts and educators see signs of Russian information and psychological operations (IPSO) in this trend. Although some of the videos are created by teenagers for the sake of „hype“, the mass and uniformity of hate indicate possible external coordination,» she believes.
The expert admits that the enemy’s goal may also be to demoralize Ukrainian teachers. «By discrediting teachers, the enemy is attacking the stability of the entire education system,» Holzberg claims.
She also reminded that parents and teachers should know that both administrative and criminal liability is provided for the distribution of such content or defamation (even for minors through their parents).
Recall that YouTube has declared war on deepfakes and is launching a tool that gives YouTubers the opportunity to tag content with their face.
Meanwhile, at least 150 channels for distributing pornographic deepfakes were discovered on Telegram.
