The Goffstown School District has voted to regulate images of real people made with AI after parents say it was used to create inappropriate photos of their children.Images in this category are commonly known as “deepfakes.” Pictures or videos of real people are created using artificial intelligence technology, often without needing much more than a single reference photo of a person (with or without their permission). These images can be manipulated to put a person in fictional scenarios, which can include explicit content.Monday night, the Goffstown School Board unanimously approved the policy to ban deepfakes, titled in the agenda as “JICN-JICN-R – Prohibition of Deepfake Images and Other Media.”Since minutes from the meeting are yet to be approved, specific details of the policy are still unconfirmed, but district officials say it was modeled after similar policies in Bedford and Pinkerton.Officials from both those districts say with some minor differences between them, basic elements of their own policies include what constitutes a deepfake, what is prohibited at school facilities, and the consequences of violations. They believe many of these elements are present in Goffstown’s model.A 2025 law makes the creation and distribution of deepfakes a felony in the state of New Hampshire, if they’re created with the intent to harm the person shown in the deepfake in any way.During the meeting, the district’s superintendent, Brian Balke, said he wouldn’t comment on the matter after addressing the concerns brought forward by parents during public comment.>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play <<“I apologize for my vagueness, but we were instructed and recommended by our attorney to not share anything further,” he said. “So that’s where I’m going to leave it.”For Goffstown, those same parents say the issue of deepfake impacts began with an incident earlier this year at Mountain View Middle School.Krystal Labranche, the mother of an eighth grader, got a call from the school’s principal Oct. 7. The purpose was to inform her of rumors going around of explicit deepfake images of her daughter. While the principal said an investigation was underway, few other details were provided.”It’s sad when your daughter’s expressing, at 14 years old, that she doesn’t want to go to school anymore. She doesn’t want to go to her school,” she said.Labranche’s daughter is one of three girls who she says became victims of the deepfakes, another one being the fellow eighth-grade daughter of Leiann Berlinguette.”Nobody was prepared for something like this,” she said. “You’re seeing this all over the country, where images like this are being created and nobody had the education or the awareness of what this truly could be.”Since getting their calls, both parents have become vocal online about what happened to their children and the need for the school district to act. Clips of their attendance at board meetings and details of their appearances became common tools for their platforms on social media.Along with the views, they also started getting support for their cause.”When you get messages from other parents that are expressing other scenarios that their children have been in and situations and they feel that it was never acknowledged, the transparency was never there,” said Labranche.Parents shared a message with News 9 from the school sent to families in November. While the message doesn’t directly address the incident, it says that details would remain confidential.Berlinguette and Labranche believe the new policy is a strong starting point, but represents room for growth to come.”I think as long as they follow through with what they are saying, I think this is a great step in the right direction,” said Berlinguette.The Goffstown Police Department is involved in the investigation but has not returned requests for comment. Superintendent Balke also replied to a separate request from News 9 that he has nothing to add to Monday’s discussion.>> Subscribe to WMUR’s YouTube channel <<
GOFFSTOWN, N.H. —
The Goffstown School District has voted to regulate images of real people made with AI after parents say it was used to create inappropriate photos of their children.
Images in this category are commonly known as “deepfakes.” Pictures or videos of real people are created using artificial intelligence technology, often without needing much more than a single reference photo of a person (with or without their permission). These images can be manipulated to put a person in fictional scenarios, which can include explicit content.
Monday night, the Goffstown School Board unanimously approved the policy to ban deepfakes, titled in the agenda as “JICN-JICN-R – Prohibition of Deepfake Images and Other Media.”
Since minutes from the meeting are yet to be approved, specific details of the policy are still unconfirmed, but district officials say it was modeled after similar policies in Bedford and Pinkerton.
Officials from both those districts say with some minor differences between them, basic elements of their own policies include what constitutes a deepfake, what is prohibited at school facilities, and the consequences of violations. They believe many of these elements are present in Goffstown’s model.
A 2025 law makes the creation and distribution of deepfakes a felony in the state of New Hampshire, if they’re created with the intent to harm the person shown in the deepfake in any way.
During the meeting, the district’s superintendent, Brian Balke, said he wouldn’t comment on the matter after addressing the concerns brought forward by parents during public comment.
>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play <<
“I apologize for my vagueness, but we were instructed and recommended by our attorney to not share anything further,” he said. “So that’s where I’m going to leave it.”
For Goffstown, those same parents say the issue of deepfake impacts began with an incident earlier this year at Mountain View Middle School.
Krystal Labranche, the mother of an eighth grader, got a call from the school’s principal Oct. 7. The purpose was to inform her of rumors going around of explicit deepfake images of her daughter. While the principal said an investigation was underway, few other details were provided.
“It’s sad when your daughter’s expressing, at 14 years old, that she doesn’t want to go to school anymore. She doesn’t want to go to her school,” she said.
Labranche’s daughter is one of three girls who she says became victims of the deepfakes, another one being the fellow eighth-grade daughter of Leiann Berlinguette.
“Nobody was prepared for something like this,” she said. “You’re seeing this all over the country, where images like this are being created and nobody had the education or the awareness of what this truly could be.”
Since getting their calls, both parents have become vocal online about what happened to their children and the need for the school district to act. Clips of their attendance at board meetings and details of their appearances became common tools for their platforms on social media.
Along with the views, they also started getting support for their cause.
“When you get messages from other parents that are expressing other scenarios that their children have been in and situations and they feel that it was never acknowledged, the transparency was never there,” said Labranche.
Parents shared a message with News 9 from the school sent to families in November. While the message doesn’t directly address the incident, it says that details would remain confidential.
Berlinguette and Labranche believe the new policy is a strong starting point, but represents room for growth to come.
“I think as long as they follow through with what they are saying, I think this is a great step in the right direction,” said Berlinguette.
The Goffstown Police Department is involved in the investigation but has not returned requests for comment.
Superintendent Balke also replied to a separate request from News 9 that he has nothing to add to Monday’s discussion.
>> Subscribe to WMUR’s YouTube channel <<
