A teacher who faced a barrage of abuse after a doctored video falsely claimed she used a racist slur while canvassing for Labor says she has been forced into hiding and fears it will ruin her career.

During the local elections last May, PE teacher Cheryl Bennett, from Wednesbury, West Midlands, was helping her colleague Qasim Mughal distribute Labor leaflet as her actions were caught on home surveillance cameras.

Soon after, a video of her leaving the house surfaced online, with subtitles falsely claiming she had used racist language toward the homeowner, including slurs against the people of Pakistan.

The video has been viewed millions of times and shared widely on social media, including by lawyer Akhmed Yakoob, who was running as an independent candidate in the West Midlands mayoral election at the time.

He posted the video alongside a video of his own, saying: "Those who are still in the Labor Party, it's time for you to leave." He also revealed Bennett's name and workplace.

Bennett told the Sunday Times she had received "substantial" damages and costs from Yakoob after she launched legal proceedings for libel and breach of data protection rights.

Nick McAleenan, a partner at Brabunas LLP, which represents Bennett, said the case was the first of its kind and highlighted potential legal issues as video manipulation, often driven by artificial intelligence, turns into are becoming more common, and so are home security and doorbell cameras. .

"It's her voice, but it's synthetically messed up to be able to say these things," he said. “When she was close to the camera it was at exactly the same volume as when she was about five meters away, which was one of the telltale signs.

"This sort of thing has obviously happened in previous elections abroad but I really don't think it's ever happened in the UK so in a way it's a precedent. This settlement really shows how people misused items risk.”

Yakub, who is still under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority over the incident, told the Sunday Times: "Of course I'm sorry. If I hadn't been sorry I wouldn't have agreed to settle with her and give her a sum of money (... ) I admitted my mistake.”

No one admitted to using fake subtitles to create the original video. "Honestly, that's the only part that I don't really have any answers for, and I think that's going to stick with me," Bennett said. "I don't need an apology. I just need people to know the truth."

Bennett said she was flooded with messages after the video went viral. One message from a student at her school read: "I didn't expect teachers with your standards to be racially discriminatory."

Her school received 800 formal complaints and Bennett was told not to return to work for her own safety. People searched for her at her family's home, and her license plate number was shared online.

“I was always in survival mode,” she said. "Because some days I just think: 'Would it be easier if I took my own life?' Just because I feel like my career will never be the same."

McAleenan said it was no exaggeration to say Bennett was forced into hiding. "She had to stay at home and people had to go out and buy her food. She got a tsunami of abuse. She was really worried and had to put security cameras in her home."

West Midlands Police said they had obtained the original audio and found "no evidence of any racist slurs or language used".

"It's a lesson to be learned, don't believe everything you see on social media. Just because you see it, doesn't mean it's always correct," Bennett said.