A former sports presenter has taken bold steps to confront internet trolls who have been using technology to create explicit deepfake videos of her.
Tiffany Salmond, originally from New Zealand, made her mark as a sideline reporter and sports broadcaster with organizations like RNZ and Sky NZ before moving on to Fox Sports to cover the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL.
Despite her on-air success, Salmond claims she was suddenly dismissed from Fox Sports without any explanation, describing the experience as a ‘silent shut-out’ from the broadcasting world.
Since her departure, Salmond has become the target of online harassment, with malicious individuals employing AI technology to produce realistic yet inappropriate videos and images of her.
Salmond had previously spoken out against these deepfakes, but she recently disclosed that the harassment has not only persisted but intensified.
“Earlier this year, I addressed the issue of being targeted with explicit AI-generated deepfakes—these are fake sexual images created from genuine photos of me, all done without my consent,” she shared in a recent post.
Salmond was a sideline reporter for Fox Sports at New Zealand Warriors NRL matches until she was abruptly dumped by the network
Salmond spoke out against the deepfake AI videos being made from her images in May, 2025
‘But what I haven’t spoken about until now is the doubt and suspicion that’s followed.
‘Over the past few months, I’ve seen a continued narrative online accusing me of faking the story for attention.
‘Claiming the deepfakes were never real, and that I made the whole thing up.’
‘I stopped talking about this months ago because I’d already said what I needed to. But that doesn’t mean it stopped,’ she continued.
‘For anyone who assumed it was a one-off, it wasn’t. The deepfakes have continued to be made and posted.
‘The most recent deepfake (and the most explicit one yet) was shared online just three weeks ago.’
Salmond said the issue was the deepfakes were circulating in dark corners of the internet, leading many to believe they didn’t exist because ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
‘After seeing people suggest I made this whole thing up – while literally watching new deepfakes of me still being created, I realised something,’ she said.
Salmond said the attacks continued, and showed the images she had posted that were manipulated
She then shared videos showing the deepfakes that were circulating online, censoring the nudity herself.
It was a bold move from the former Fox Sports presenter who is speaking out to protect all women from deepfake AI attacks
Salmond said the issue was many people didn’t believe the deepfakes were real because they had no seen them for themselves
‘Most people don’t actually understand what a deepfake is, or how common they’ve become. Especially when it comes to explicit ones made of real people.
‘It’s still just a buzzword to most. And unless you’ve made them, shared them, or had them made of you … it’s just a concept, or a theoretical discussion.’
‘But that gap in understanding is part of the problem,’ she continued.
‘When people don’t see it for themselves, they dismiss it and don’t take it seriously, or assume it’s too far-fetched to be real.’
That led Salmond to take a dramatic action, by sharing the deepfakes on her own Instagram Story to show people how real and damaging they are.
‘So it left me thinking, how can we educate boys, protect girls, and prepare parents, if no one actually knows that they’re up against?’ she asked.
‘You can’t solve a problem you don’t even see.’
‘So I’m going to share a few censored versions of the deepfakes that were created using my photos.
Salmond also shared the image that was used by media outlets when she first spoke out in May
She said the fact that trolls attacked that very image proved her point that their motive was to take her power and confidence away
‘I know it’s unorthodox. But if we’re serious about protecting women from this new, easily accessible technology, then people need to understand what it actually is.
‘And to truly understand, you need to see it for yourself.’
Salmond posted a series of images she had posted on her social media accounts, followed by videos of the deepfakes that were censored by her.
‘The original shared online was full, AI-generated nudity,’ she said.
‘There have been so many created and shared over the past few months, that I’ve lost count,’ she said.
That included the image that was used by media outlets when she originally spoke out about the deepfakes.
Salmond said the fact trolls had used that specific image proved her point.
‘The moment I truly knew I was right, that this was always about power, was when they deepfaked that photo.
Salmond also shared several comments from men and women that discredited her claims
And Salmond also shared this image that was a more crude attack on her of a sexual nature
‘I had to cover my face in that one, they used AI to fake my body, but it was the face that felt most violating,’ she said.
‘It was still recognisingly mine, but twisted. Almost demonic.
‘There’s something even more disturbing in that than even the nudity.
‘But despite how unsettling that image was … they exposed themselve.
‘It wasn’t random, they chose that specific photo because they felt threatened. By a woman who was confident, celebrated and platformed.
‘It was retaliation. There was nothing sexual about that photo. But it was symbolic, and the only power move they had left.
‘But they didn’t just expose themselves to me. They exposed themselves to each other.
‘Because once I spoke out about what the intent behind them really was, it became impossible for the other men in these online spaces to ignore the pattern.
‘The pattern that every time I’ve spoken out this year, every time I’ve been platformed, or made a power move – there’s a targeted spike in retalitation.
‘And eventually, the other men started seeing it too.
