Deepfake porn victim Elliston Berry’s harrowing story as teen joins Melania at Trump’s joint session speech

A Texas high schooler who is set to join the First Lady at Donald Trump’s address to Congress was the victim of AI generated deep fake revenge porn.

Elliston Berry was just 14 years old when she discovered fake nude images of herself were circulating around Aledo High School in October 2023. 

But Berry has since risen from the ashes and become a figurehead for the Take It Down Act – and joined Melania Trump at a conference on Monday to speak about the hurt that her harrowing past has caused. 

The poised teenager spoke eloquently as she sat next to the First Lady yesterday – where they discussed the pertinent issues surrounding revenge pornography.  

‘[I was] just expecting a normal day, and I got numerous calls and messages from my friends telling me that these nude images were going around,’ Berry told Fox News.

‘[They were going] all around school — Snapchat, Instagram, throughout all different social medias.’

The images showed Berry’s face, but a male classmate had taken photos from her private Instagram account and rendered her nude using AI software, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

One photo of Berry standing on the deck of a cruise ship was altered to replace her clothing with a fake naked body. Other photos of her friends were generated using original beach photos.

‘It was so realistic. It is child porn. We really could not take care of her. We, in that moment, were helpless. More and more pictures were coming out throughout that first day into the second day,’ her mother, Anna McAdams, told WFAA.

McAdams desperately tried to get the social media platforms to take the pictures down, but was told by the companies there was nothing they could do. 

‘It wasn’t until I went to Washington… and Senator [Ted] Cruz realized those pictures are still up there. I spent eight-and-a-half months, and he was able to get ahold of somebody at Snapchat and they immediately, within 24 hours, took the accounts down,’ she said.

McAdams reported the incident to the school and an investigation revealed the perpetrator was her fellow classmate.

The Aledo Independent School District said they cooperated with the sheriff’s office during the investigation and the teen boy was disciplined ‘in accordance with the student code of conduct and state law.’

However, the outraged mother said he was forced to complete the semester in a separate building on campus then left the school after winter break that year. 

‘He has probation, a slap on the wrist, and then he gets done at 18. It’ll be expunged. But these pictures could forever be out there of our girls,’ McAdams said. 

Cruz has worked with Berry and McAdams to create the Take It Down Act, which increases protections for victims of non-consensual sharing of sexual images known as ‘revenge pornography’ and that includes content generated by artificial intelligence, also known as deep fake porn.

It also requires websites to make a reasonable effort to take down the images within 48 hours of a complaint being filed.

The act was passed in the Senate in February, and Berry, now 15, joined Melania Trump at her first public remarks of her second tenure as First Lady on Monday.

‘In today’s AI-driven world, the threat of privacy breaches is alarmingly high,’ she said. 

‘As First Lady, my commitment to the Be Best initiative underscores the importance of online safety. In an era where digital interactions are integral to daily life, it is imperative that we safeguard children from mean-spirited and hurtful online behavior.’ 

Berry also shared her story at the event. ‘I was 14 years old when I was violated all over social media,’ she said.

‘I came here today to not only promote this bill but to fight for the many survivors. It is so inspiring to know that my voice is being heard, giving hope to not only me, to all the many people that have been affected by this. It is truly so amazing how this awful situation has turned to good.’

Berry, McAdams and her stepfather Mark will sit in Melania’s box when Trump addresses a Joint Session of Congress Tuesday night.