Khaberni - Tunisian-Iraqi artist Zahra Ben Maim revealed that she was subjected to an electronic blackmail attempt by an unknown person, who demanded from her to pay a sum of money amounting to $50,000 in exchange for not publishing what he described as a fabricated video clip, confirming at the same time that there is no content of this sort related to her.
Ben Maim documented the call made to her by an unknown number to blackmail her, and in a video she posted on her official TikTok account, she outlined the details of the incident, emphasizing that the blackmailer used artificial intelligence technologies to create the video, which makes the matter more dangerous and indicates the escalation of the phenomenon of digital extortion in the Arab world and beyond.
She added: "I received a threat to pay a large sum of money for something that does not exist at all.. This is not just a personal issue, but a warning to everyone about the magnitude of the risks associated with modern digital falsification technologies."
The artist confirmed that she will not pay any money, and there is no content that can be used to threaten her at all, directing her speech to the blackmailer: "When you threaten me with publishing a fake video.. go ahead, dear, do what you want and do as you please.. I will not pay any money."
The artist warned of the rapid spread of such cybercrimes, which target individuals' privacy and pose a threat to digital security, calling on the relevant authorities and society to take urgent measures to tackle this phenomenon and establish legal and technical mechanisms to reduce extortion and protect victims from fabricated clips.
