Former Green Party leader Ricarda Lang has herself experienced digital sexual violence. Speaking to “Der Spiegel”, she said, “I’m also aware of at least one deep‑fake pornographic video that makes it look as if the footage shows me”. Digital abuse has accompanied her political career from the beginning. She says a deep‑fake porn film feels “worse than any insult-three‑dimensional, personal. Even though I know it’s a fake, it’s as if it were me”.
During the controversy sparked by actress Collien Fernandes’ accusations against Christian Ulmen, Lang outlined ten demands to counter sexualized violence. Among them is the criminalisation of sexualised deep‑fakes and stricter enforcement against digital platforms that create or distribute such images and videos. “This boils down to a fundamental question: who is more powerful, our democracy or US tech oligarchs?” she added.
Her decision to expose herself stemmed from the intensity of the debate. “There was an inner voice that said, ‘Stop it, you just want to be taken seriously for your policy areas,'” she explained. Yet she feels a responsibility as a politician to turn a high‑profile case into a public discussion. She also noted how difficult it is to avoid the topic: “It takes a lot of power to push it aside. It takes strength to endure a political climate that only rewards those with a thick skin on their souls”.
