In one of the images widely shared on X, Ntshavheni is seen in a bikini in ANC colours, walking at what looks to be a party event. “The photoshopping of my X account with vulgar images and misinformation is not only distasteful but shameful as well,” Ntshavheni said. She warned that the use of sexualised images to target women was particularly alarming in a country grappling with high levels of gender-based violence (GBV).
“In a country that is battling a GBV problem, the continued use of sexual images to tarnish women is deplorable at the least. The cowards responsible for the Photoshop represent the worst sexists and GBV perpetrators. “The public is warned about uncouth images published allegedly on the minister’s account.
The minister’s account is not hacked, but the images are photoshopped.” In a country that is battling a GBV problem, the continued use of sexual images to tarnish women is deplorable at the least. Despite the attacks, she said attempts to distract her from her work would fail, adding that the government had observed a broader misinformation campaign targeting members of the executive. “Attempts to defocus [her] from the tasks at hand will not succeed.
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The government has also noticed the co-ordinated misinformation campaign primarily targeting ministers and deputy ministers.” Ntshavheni added that she remained undeterred and unfazed by what she labelled as acts of cowardice. The incident comes amid growing concern about the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) tools on X, particularly Grok’s image-editing feature. Several reports have surfaced of users exploiting the tool to digitally alter photographs of individuals, especially women and children, placing them in sexualised or explicit situations without consent.
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