New research published by Cybernews has revealed a sharp rise in malicious artificial intelligence incidents within educational settings, highlighting a troubling trend of deepfakes targeting women and girls.

Analysing data from the Resemble AI Deepfake Incident Database, Cybernews identified 83 deepfake incidents at educational institutions around the globe since the start of 2025.

The findings show that 71% of the recorded cases involved sexually explicit content. Furthermore, the data indicates that 97% of the victims were female, and 72% were minors.

The study found that secondary schools accounted for 65% of all recorded incidents, while universities and colleges represented 19%.

Geographically, the United States accounted for the majority of reported cases with a known location at 68%, though researchers note this may partly reflect differences in regional reporting practices and media coverage.

When examining the perpetrators, students were responsible for 57% of the recorded incidents, frequently targeting their classmates. Meanwhile, teachers and school staff were identified as perpetrators in 18% of cases, involving instances of school personnel generating unauthorised explicit material of students or colleagues.

The researchers emphasise that creating convincing synthetic images or videos no longer requires advanced technical expertise, making everyday AI tools easily accessible for misuse.

Experts argue that the findings underscore an urgent need for robust school policies, comprehensive digital literacy education and stronger safety guardrails built directly into consumer AI generation platforms to protect vulnerable students and staff.

https://cybernews.com/ai-news/deepfakes-at-educational-institutions-research/