Vicky Pattison's Channel 4 doc is branded 'excellent and brave' by fans as they commend her for 'shining light on darkest corners of Internet' - despite backlash over decision to make her own deepfake sex tape

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Vicky Pattison's controversial Channel 4 documentary has been praised as 'excellent' for highlighting how much of a growing issue deepfake porn has become.

The former Geordie Shore star, 37, was commended for her 'courage' in creating a her own deepfake sex tape, using artificial intelligence, to show the struggles victims face from the 'increasingly disturbing' trend.

Before it aired on Tuesday night, Vicky Pattison: My Deepfake Sex Tape had been hit by backlash with some survivors being 'deeply offended' with the material. 

But viewers of the documentary took to social media to praise Vicky for 'using her platform for the benefit of others' and 'opening their eyes' to the issue.

They wrote: 'Well done @VickyPattison for opening my eyes to deep fakes and the trauma they cause. I never knew it was so common out there! It’s shocking! Men need to call out other men on their behaviour! Why should the onus be on women'.

'Just watched and I think you were so brave to do this. It shocked me how easily these images and videos are made'; 'Well done for this brave crusade. Buy hubby a pint from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️'.

Vicky Pattison 's controversial Channel 4 documentary has been praised as 'excellent' for highlighting how much of a growing issue deepfake porn has become 

The former Geordie Shore star, 37, was commended for her 'courage' in creating a her own deepfake sex tape (pictured), using artificial intelligence, to show the struggles victims face from the 'increasingly disturbing' trend 

Before it aired on Tuesday night, Vicky Pattison: My Deepfake Sex Tape had been hit by backlash with some survivors being 'deeply offended' with the material

'I really like how it's giving a voice to the victims of Deepfake pornography. It also shines a light on the darkest corners of the Internet. I also like how the women are being treated with the utmost respect. Excellent doc ❤️'. 

'@VickyPattison thank you for the courage to show how disgusting these AI sites are. It made me feel dirty being a man, quicker the government make these illegal the better. Excellent documentary'. 

'Wow this doc!! You don't just stand and fight for us girls but for our little girls we are bringing up in this crazy sick world you are absolutely amazing ❤️'.

'Just watched the @VickyPattison Deepfake video and I am speechless, I cannot believe that isn’t actually her. AI is so so powerful, almost frightening.'

'Vicky Pattison feeling she needed to apologise for becoming emotional and crying during this documentary. I will say that showed how much she cares about the topic. I love when TV personalities use their platform for the benefit of others. Another excellent documentary ❤️'.

The programme saw Vicky becoming emotional as she spoke to victims of deepfake porn and investigated how easy it was to access sites that used the AI technology to make the content.

Several times in the show she broke down in tears, and admitted: 'All I can think of is young lasses who've had this down to them. It's so dangerous. It's been a wakeup call to be honest. Just a few minutes and you've got enough to ruin someone's life.

'Women are having their consent taken away. Not even just women - girls, kids.'

But viewers of the documentary took to social media to praise Vicky for 'using her platform for the benefit of others' and 'opening their eyes' to the issue

But viewers of the documentary took to social media to praise Vicky for 'using her platform for the benefit of others' and 'opening their eyes' to the issue

Vicky then directed and produced deepfake porn footage of herself and released the video on social media to show the way the content spreads online and how these images and videos are taken down.

In her own video, to ensure that the production of it was fully consensual, her likeness in the video was portrayed by an actor, with AI technology used to insert Vicky's face.

The clip appeared to show Vicky engaged in a sex act with a man while first wearing a bra and then later, topless.

But at the end of the programme she was left horrified to discover that there was already deepfake porn of her that existed online. 

During an educational segment about how to remove content, 'takedown' experts discovered other graphic content as well as the fake clip leaked by Vicky for the documentary.

The experts used AI software to 'scrape' the internet to find and remove the fake tape but the high-tech software quickly found 1,700 concerning results about Vicky.

The content included clips posted by anonymous web users of them pleasuring themselves over bikini pictures of Vicky. 

Other sites included bikini pictures of Vicky alongside links to click through to apps where AI could 'undress' the images. 

The programme saw Vicky becoming emotional as she spoke to victims of deepfake porn and investigated how easy it was to access sites that used the AI technology to make the content

Vicky then directed and produced deepfake porn footage of herself and released the video on social media to show the way the content spreads online and how these images and videos are taken down 

It comes after Vicky addressed the backlash to the documentary this week, as she emotionally admitted 'I know it has ruffled some feathers'.

Many had criticised her decision to make her own deepfake content and an abuse victim and campaign group condemned the former Geordie Shore star's decision. 

Several charities who were approached about the project refused to take part – believing that Vicky’s own video was a terrible idea, and disrespectful to actual victims. 

Appearing on ITV's Lorraine on Tuesday, a teary Vicky addressed the negative reaction and said: 'I think first of all, I completely understand that this has been a divisive way to go about sharing the information about deep fake AI and also to try and spread awareness.

'I know that we have been loud, we've been deliberate and I know that it has ruffled some feathers. 

'But anybody who feels any type of way about it, I completely understand their feelings. They are valid. I'm not trying to trivialise them.'

Vicky continued: 'The stats are there. The figures are there. In 2024, there were more, there were over double the amount of deep cake videos that were in 2022. 

'There is over 300 of these new apps now within a month of one of them launching 6,000 nice normal women had their pictures deepfaked.'

But at the end of the programme she was left horrified to discover that there was already deepfake porn of her that existed online

During an educational segment about how to remove content, 'takedown' experts discovered other graphic content as well as the fake clip leaked by Vicky for the documentary

Earlier this week Vicky broke her silence on the backlash and she admitted that she questioned whether releasing it was the 'right thing' to do.  

Speaking to The Sun, she explained: 'The video itself has always been the part of the documentary I’ve wrestled with the most. 

'So it isn’t a decision I made lightly, and it is one that I struggled with right until the end. Like, right until Sunday night I was asking - am I doing the right thing?

'I completely understand some people might be angry and upset about what we’ve done and I in no way want to diminish that. I’d never want to trivialise victims’ feelings'. 

She explained that she wanted the documentary to raise awareness about the problem and encourage lawmakers and tech companies to 'provide stronger protections' to victims 

Vicky went on to say that she had the 'privilege' of speaking to deepfake porn survivors, with many of them agreeing that the sex tape was a 'bold' way to highlight the issue. 

The star noted that the 'form of abuse' is showing no signs of slowing down, noting that she's 'made her peace' with the way she's chosen to shine a light on the problem. 

Vicky, who tied the knot with Ercan Ramadan last summer, admitted that she couldn't bring herself to ask her new husband to be by her side as she posted the deepfake video online last week. 

It comes after Vicky addressed the backlash to the documentary this week, as she emotionally admitted 'I know it has ruffled some feathers' 

Several charities who were approached about the project refused to take part – believing that Vicky’s own video was a terrible idea, and disrespectful to actual victims 

Vicky, who tied the knot with Ercan Ramadan last summer, admitted that she couldn't bring herself to ask her new husband to be by her side as she posted the deepfake video online last week (pictured with Ercan)

While she also noted that the enormous attention she's received for her 'shocking' move 'hasn’t been very nice' for her family. 

She explained: 'I don’t think this is how we pictured the first six months of our marriage. Ercan was there for me a lot. He features in the documentary but he had his limits, so I was mindful of that. 

'This was my decision alone. I was aware there’s only so much I can ask the people who love me to do. So I sat there by myself.'

A Channel 4 spokesperson said: 'This documentary hears directly from survivors of image-based abuse, to ensure that their stories are an important focus of the programme.

'The reality of deepfake abuse is an alarming and growing one, and this documentary, and the creation of Vicky’s consensual deepfake video, aims to tackle this issue. 

'This comes at a crucial time when it is at the forefront of national conversation and the government is currently looking at legislation to address the deliberate exploitation of women online.

'Channel 4 has a long history of complex and challenging programming, and has a remit to explore difficult topics.'