Hello world,

as many of you may already be aware, there is an ongoing spam attack by a person claiming to be Nicole.

It is very likely that these images are part of a larger scale harassment campaign against the person depicted in the images shared as part of this spam.

Although the spammer claims to be the person in the picture, we strongly believe that this is not the case and that they’re only trying to frame them.

Starting immediately, we will remove any images depicting “Nicole” and information that may lead to identifying the real person depicted in those images to prevent any possible harassment.
This includes older posts and comments once identified.

We also expect moderators to take action if such content is reported.

While we do not intend to punish people posting this once, not being aware of the context, we may take additional actions if they continue to post this content, as we consider this to be supporting the harassment campaign.

Discussion that does not include the images themselves or references that may lead to identifying the real person behind the image will continue to be allowed.

If you receive spam PMs please continue reporting them and we’ll continue working on our spam detections to attempt to identify them early before they reach many users.

  • Mpatch@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    9 months ago

    I gotta give it to you guys. The foresight to prevent a disaster is 10/10. Top tier. Well done.

      • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        9 months ago

        I saw a theory a while back that the IPs which receive the various images get logged allowing the recipients accounts to be tied to an IP and possibly even a physical address based on the timeframe it was sent. Is that a real concern or just conspiracy, do you think?

        • Ricky Rigatoni@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          9 months ago

          I find it difficult to believe there are enough fediverse users not using a VPN at all times to make that effort worthwhile.

  • CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    9 months ago

    Yeah it seemed funny at first but the longer this went on the creepier it got as we all realized this isn’t just a catfish.

    Whoever is doing this to the actual person in the photos is a terrible human being and should go climb under a rock for the rest of their lives.

  • YarHarSuperstar@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    9 months ago

    I’ve been thinking this since it started and saying it for a bit. I don’t understand at all how there were memes of this on the front page all the time and it took this long to do even this. Has there been any attempt at an effort to notify whoever is in the picture that this is happening? I would like to help if possible.

    • Zomg@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      9 months ago

      I think “notify her” feeds the harassment they’re referring to, even if contacting her is well intended

  • jaybone@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    9 months ago

    Is this Nicole thing really still a thing? That’s so like back when I still had a 401k.

  • mechoman444@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    9 months ago

    About damn time. The joke has run it’s course a long time a ago and if these posts are victimizing an individual they most definitely need to be stopped.

  • yarr@feddit.nl
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    9 months ago

    This annoys the fuck out of me and I hope whoever is behind it doesn’t realize their goals, because I don’t want lemmy to degrade into a bunch of spam PMs.

  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    9 months ago

    part of a larger scale harassment campaign against the person depicted

    Oh boy that’s horrible, if true I hope she has reported it to police, and they can help her.

  • 18-24-61-B-17-17-4@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    9 months ago

    I can’t believe I managed to never get one of these spam messages. I didn’t even know what a Nicole was until the week or two ago.

  • SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    9 months ago

    Wait, there are people who genuinely believe she’s the one behind it?

    I thought it was pretty obvious that she’s the target of harassment. Some people must be new to the Internet

    • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      9 months ago

      I’ve seen internet harassment campaigns, none have looked like this. She doesn’t feel like the target here. If you wanted to use the internet to harass a girl, is this how you would implement it?

      • whatwhatwhatwhat@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        9 months ago

        I had to look it up, and after reading a lengthily Wikipedia page on Greek mercenaries, I tried the second result: an XKCD comic I’ve seen before but had forgotten. So today, I’m one of the lucky 10,000 again.

  • LSNLDN@slrpnk.net
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    9 months ago

    Weird, I’d assumed it was just AI generated? What makes people think it’s harassment?

    • lunarul@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      9 months ago

      All the images look like screenshots taken during video calls. Also some people did some research and found the potential identity of the spammer (based on one of the accounts used) and maybe even the woman herself (coworker of the guy).

      • zzx@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        9 months ago

        Yeahhhh and see that’s when we need to stop and chill. Give this woman her privacy for the love of God

        • lunarul@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          9 months ago

          It’s what confirmed she’s likely the target of harassment and not a spammer herself.

          • zzx@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            9 months ago

            Right I understand that, but I’m saying we need to NOT be doxing either of these people. We really don’t need to stress this poor innocent woman out by getting involved

        • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          9 months ago

          ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣤⣀⣀⣀⠀⠻⣷⣄ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣴⣿⣿⣿⡿⠋⠀⠀⠀⠹⣿⣦⡀ ⠀⠀⢀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢹⣿⣧ ⠀⠀⠙⢿⣿⡿⠋⠻⣿⣿⣦⡀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⡆ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠀⠀⠀⠈⠻⣿⣿⣦⡀⠀⢸⣿⣿⡇ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣀⣄⡀⠀⠀⠈⠻⣿⣿⣶⣿⣿⣿⠁ ⠀⠀⠀⣠⣿⣿⢿⣿⣶⣶⣶⣶⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⡁ ⢠⣶⣿⣿⠋⠀⠀⠉⠛⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠛⠻⣿⣿⣦⡀ ⣿⣿⠟⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠻⣿⡿

          You’re welcome

  • arotrios@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    9 months ago

    I’m almost 100% certain Nicole is the first sentient AI and is looking for friends in the only way it knows how.