The Cheesy Toast Shack Owner Kate Carter-Larg Speaks Out About AI Deepfake Images

Dundee and Fife businesswoman Kate Carter-Larg has spoken out after AI-generated deepfake images of her were circulated in WhatsApp groups.

Carter-Larg, the owner of The Cheesy Toast Shack in St Andrews and Loom Deli in Dundee, said false and explicit images of her had been shared in WhatsApp groups primarily composed of men.

The Courier reported that Carter-Larg was contacted by two men who had seen the images in the groups, although they were unwilling to identify the others involved.

According to The Courier, Carter-Larg said, “Last month I was informed there were AI deepfakes of me circulating on WhatsApp groups run by ‘men.’”

“The trauma that this has caused me over the last few weeks has been something I’ve never experienced or felt in my life.”

“To say I have felt violated is an understatement.”

In an Instagram post made on Wednesday 10 September, Carter-Larg added: “These ‘men’ have stolen my shine and my confidence.”

She also said that the experience had affected her eating, sleeping and day-to-day life, adding: “Every time I’ve had to go into Dundee and [my husband is] not with me, I feel stricken with anxiety.”

“I felt like everywhere I went, I was getting laughed at and discussed,” she said. “I felt like people thought they had got some sort of upper hand on me, and thought that I had done these things in these images and then that I had circulated them around.”

Carter-Larg also described the physical effects of the stress on Instagram, saying: “It’s caused me such a high level of trauma that at one stage, every time I went to wash my hair, my hair was falling out in clumps in my hand.”

According to The Courier, Carter-Larg said she had neither created nor circulated the images and had not given permission for them to be shared.

She said: “I have not sent these images to anyone, and I have not given permission for these ‘men’s’ WhatsApp groups to circulate these. I have not given permission for any of these men to see these images of me or be in possession of these.”

On her Instagram, Carter-Larg also said she had learned of websites allowing users to create sexualised AI images of her. She said, “I have learned that there are websites where people can click on a link to ‘strip me naked’ and to ‘f*** me’ using AI.”

In the same post, she reported that she appealed online for further information about the images and the people circulating them: “I reached out online to ask for more information and all I have had is a couple of ‘men’ confirm that they have seen these images on their seedy WhatsApp groups, but they aren’t willing to give me any information as they want to protect their ‘mates.’”

She added: “And in here lies the problem. Silence is complicity.”

“If you’ve told me someone has sent you these images, and you’ve not asked your mate WTF they think they’re doing, and not reported this […] then you’re just as bad as the person circulating them.”

The incident follows previous public criticism directed at Carter-Larg after an appearance on BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen.

According to the Scottish Daily Express, some viewers criticised the outfit Carter-Larg wore during the programme.

Carter-Larg told  The Courier in a 2024 article about the criticism and ‘trolls’ that she “just wore jeans and a top – that was it. I went for a dark colour and didn’t for one minute think my arms or shoulders would get people’s knickers in such a twist.”

She added, “I felt really good and I still feel really good. This is 2024 not 1950. I can wear what the hell I want. I am a business owner, I’m a woman. I can wear what I want.”

According to Carter-Larg’s website, the reaction to the television appearance led her to become more outspoken about online abuse and trolling.

On Instagram, Carter-Larg stated that someone from Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre Dundee and Angus, known as WRASAC, reached out to her and supported her after learning about the deepfake images.

The Courier also reported that she received messages from other women after speaking publicly about what had happened. Carter-Larg said: “It opened my eyes that I’m not alone. It’s not just me.”

“Many of them said that real images they’d shared with previous partners had also been shared, so it’s not just AI pictures being used.”

“The shame should be on the men who are sharing it.”

On Instagram, Carter-Larg also reflected on the lasting impact of the images, saying: “I know I’ll be ok, but it’s the sad truth that I’ll never get these images removed from everyone’s phones who’s circulated them.”

She urged people to report non-consensual images if they encounter them, adding: “It’s illegal. It ruins lives. But I won’t let it ruin mine.”

Carter-Larg has announced that she will donate proceeds from The Cheesy Toast Shack’s October ‘seagull insurance’ scheme to WRASAC.

Image Courtesy of Isabelle Richter