Author and storyteller Seema Anand has revealed that she was targeted with AI-generated deepfake images after clips from a recent podcast appearance went viral on social media. The 63-year-old, known for her work on relationships, intimacy and sexuality, said the incident left her feeling “physically sick” and deeply violated.
Seema Anand had been trending online after excerpts from her podcast conversation with journalist Shubhankar Mishra began circulating, in which she spoke about attraction, ageing and the way society views older women. Soon after, morphed images — including explicit deepfakes — allegedly began doing the rounds online.
Addressing the issue in a video shared on social media, Anand said that while police complaints had been filed, the emotional impact of seeing manipulated images of herself online was difficult to process. “Thinking about a few of them, I still feel physically sick,” she said, describing the comments and reactions accompanying the images as disturbing.
What troubled her further, Anand explained, was not just the existence of explicit deepfakes, but the way some people dismissed certain altered images as “not that bad.” In the video, she points to examples where her face was allegedly swapped onto another body wearing casual clothes, questioning why such edits were being normalised.
“Ask me, what’s wrong with this?” she said, before linking the mindset behind such edits to victim-blaming and rape justification. Anand argued that changing a woman’s clothing without consent and sexualising her reflects a deeper cultural problem. “This is rape justification. If I wear short clothes by my own will, I’m judged. If someone takes them off digitally, it’s considered fine,” she said.
Visibly emotional, Anand also spoke about her age being used both as a weapon and a defence online. “I’m 63 years old,” she said, questioning the mentality of those creating and consuming such content. “I cannot tell you how violated I feel. And this problem will only get worse until society stops justifying this.”
Reacting to the online backlash, Anand wrote in a caption that while the internet continues to fight over re-edited videos and rage bait, “the real problems continue,” pointing to how technology is increasingly being misused to harass and silence women.
Based in London, Seema Anand is an author, educator and public speaker who works on intimacy, relationships and sexuality, drawing from ancient Indian texts and oral traditions. She is the author of Art of Seduction and Speak Easy: A Field Guide to Love, Longing and Intimacy, and has spoken widely on consent, ageing, emotional well-being and sexual education.
In recent years, her growing presence on social media has helped her reach a wider audience, but it has also placed her at the centre of polarising public debates. While some critics have taken issue with her views, supporters argue that her work opens up long-overdue conversations around consent, desire and sexuality in India.
Her experience has once again drawn attention to the rising misuse of artificial intelligence, particularly deepfake technology, and the urgent need for stronger safeguards and accountability in digital spaces.
