Paris Hilton sounds the alarm on AI-generated exploitation in new TikTok series: ‘It could happen to literally anyone’

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Paris Hilton is sounding the alarm about explicit AI-generated images that she says could “ruin someone’s life,” shining a star-powered light on one of the darkest corners of the internet.

“Searching for Mr. Deepfakes,” Hilton’s new true crime docuseries, just debuted exclusively on her TikTok channel. The series, shared in rapid-fire videos built for a younger-skewing social media audience who “wouldn’t have watched a long-form documentary,” details a years-long investigation launched by tech journalist Laurie Segall to track down the anonymous owner of an AI-generated pornography site called Mr. Deepfakes.

Hilton told ITK in an exclusive interview that, using AI technology, “people can just take a photo — a family photo, a Christmas photo, anything — and literally turn it into an explicit image or video.”

“It could happen to literally anyone who puts their image online,” she warned.

Segall said after getting a tip about the site and taking a look, “There were thousands of videos of women — AI-generated but who didn’t consent — doing sexual, graphic things they had never done.”

Hilton’s image was among the multitude of women featured on the site — but they weren’t all famous faces.

“They said it was ‘public women,’ but ‘public’ was a very loose definition. I just remember looking at this and saying, ‘How on earth does this exist?’” exclaimed Segall.

“There was nothing these women could do, because they would try to contact the owner of the site, and it was anonymous,” added Segall, the CEO of Mostly Human Media.

“Some of these look very realistic,” Hilton said, “so it’s just completely frightening.”

It’s an issue, Hilton said, that’s “deeply personal” for her.

The TV personality has been open about what happened to her in 2003, when an intimate video of her was shared on the internet without her consent. It was an experience that she said has significantly impacted her work today.

“It took me 20 years to be able to speak about it out loud, because when you go through something, it’s so traumatizing that you just don’t even want to think it’s real. You just don’t even want to remember it, speak about it, and there’s also a huge shame behind it,” she said.

“As a 19-year-old teenager when this happened, there was no technology to even describe it. There were no laws to protect me,” Hilton said.

Now, the business and media maven and former reality TV star is aiming to change that. She’s made multiple high-profile trips to Capitol Hill in recent years, uniting typically bitterly divided lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

In January, the 45-year-old mother of two touted the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act. The bipartisan legislation would allow victims of nonconsensual deepfake pornography to sue individuals who produce and distribute the AI-generated content. She also pointed to the passage of the Take It Down Act, signed into law last year by President Trump. The bipartisan legislation, championed by first lady Melania Trump, enacts stricter penalties for the distribution of nonconsensual intimate images and AI-generated deepfakes.

“I’ve helped pass three federal bills and 16 state laws to protect children, and I really feel that this is my true purpose in life and my legacy,” Hilton said.

“That’s why I keep coming back to D.C. all the time, because I know when I come there, I really can make a huge difference in people’s lives.”

Proponents urging lawmakers to “catch up” to the explicit deepfake issue with legislation originally faced an uphill battle, Segall said, because there was neither public pressure nor “an acceptance that this was real abuse.”

“People would say, ‘Oh, but the images aren’t real. It doesn’t matter,'” she recalled.

Meantime, many victims Segall spoke with were left devastated.

“I had one woman tell me it ruined her life. She literally walked up to her rooftop and considered ending her life. Another woman said it impacted the way she walked in the world — she didn’t trust anybody anymore,” the investigative reporter said.

“This digital abuse was real abuse, and so I thought, from a cultural standpoint, we need to get folks talking about this, and from a legal standpoint, we need to push the laws to catch up with the technology and the impact,” Segall said.

Hilton has said before that she’s often told when she touches down in Washington that she gets more done than the government. Asked what the secret is to lobbying lawmakers to take action, she replied, “When I go in there, I’m going as myself with someone with lived experience, and I also bring other survivors.”

“I make sure that I let everyone know and I let the whole entire world know, so it’s something that they cannot ignore.”

“That’s why I think that I’ve been able to pass so many bills and so many laws so quickly. When I’ve heard of others trying, and they say, ‘I’ve been going back [to Washington] for 10, 15 years, and I still have not passed this bill,'” Hilton said of her advocacy efforts.

Asked what she would tell critics who argue that Hollywood stars should stay in their lane and avoid wading into politics, Hilton said whether celebrities should be involved “depends on the situation.”

“I think when it has to do with children’s lives, women’s lives, people who are being affected in a negative way where people are getting hurt, and someone is coming in and actually has lived experience, or actually is passionate about it, then I think it’s something that’s important,” she said.

“But then I think there could be other things that people come in for that maybe aren’t done in that way or maybe it’s more of like a frivolous thing,” Hilton said.

While these days Hilton is spending plenty of time taking her causes to the halls of Congress, she doesn’t appear to have any plans to hit the campaign trail supporting political candidates.

Asked who she might have her eye on ahead of the 2028 White House race, Hilton replied, “I feel that politics is something I feel like celebrities should not be discussing.”

“I don’t ever want to weigh anyone’s decision based on that, so I don’t really get into that,” she added.

But the 11:11 Media founder indicated that she wasn’t shutting the door on going from advocate to candidate herself. Hilton recently quipped that she might run for president if she could paint the White House pink.

When ITK inquired whether she was picking out pink paint colors, Hilton said, “It truly has been the most meaningful work of my life, and I feel so proud of everything I accomplished. So we’ll see what happens.”

When pressed for more clarity on any political future, Hilton responded with a grin, “Never say never.”

For now, Hilton said she’s focused on raising awareness via her massive platform — with more than 12 million TikTok followers and another 26 million Instagram followers.

While Mr. Deepfakes was shut down last year, Hilton said, “There are other ones popping up.”

But “Searching for Mr. Deepfakes,” which has racked up more than 26 million views in the week since it debuted on Hilton’s TikTok, could serve as a sort of digital warning shot to potential future Mr. Deepfakes.

“The more people know about it, the less people are going to want to do this. And they’re going to know that their actions will be punished,” Hilton said.

“This is something that you’re not going to get away with.”

“I think it’s really incredible to be able to use my platform, and shine a light on the darkness, and really raise issues and make people listen,” the entrepreneur and author said.

“I also hope it inspires others that they could do the same. You don’t have to be in the government to use your voice,” Hilton said, revealing that she’s planning another return trip to Washington in the coming weeks.

“This is just the beginning.”

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