Mr. DeepFakes, the largest and most infamous non-consensual deepfake porn site in the world, has been taken offline. This closure is the beginning of the end of an era spent exploiting technology and further objectifying women. Launched between 2017 and 2018, the site emerged as artificial intelligence began to integrate into adult content on social media platforms, particularly Reddit. Mr. DeepFakes rose to notoriety by portraying hundreds of female celebrities, politicians, and even members of royal families in disgusting and humiliating scenes. His videos have received more than 2 billion views.
The site’s material included everything from brutal depictions of kidnapping and rape to violent sexual assault. It did so through an advertisement-supported model with optional premium memberships which were for members paid in cryptocurrency. Mr. DeepFakes was believed to be bringing in anywhere from $4,000 to $7,000 a month before the 2020 estimates. The size of the physical content was surreal. The multimedia site featured a staggering “shop window” of resource content that would require more than 200 days to consume in entirety!
As law enforcement intensified their investigation, Mr. DeepFakes preemptively blocked access to users in the UK, suspecting authorities were closing in on the site’s creators. The word “deepfake” may have first come into existence after the name of this contentious platform. Although its reputation has become rather nefarious, Mr. DeepFakes sometimes awarded anonymous interviews to curious reporters, giving them a glimpse into its inner workings and motivations.
The site then predictably closed down its operations for good on May 4, 2023. Following its closure, automated messages from one of the creators hinted at ongoing activities: “If you want anything made, let me know … Mr. DeepFakes is down – but of course, we keep working.”
Mr. DeepFakes grew out of the rapidly-increasing world of AI-generated porn. This unfortunate turn of events highlights a deeply disturbing place where technology meets misogyny. Perhaps unsurprisingly, critics have drawn attention to how this spread of deepfake pornographic content is indicative of a larger societal misogyny towards women in public service.
“They’re never going to let us do this!” one very sadly anonymous creator said about the possibility of triggering regulatory scrutiny.
Critics have already labeled the site “ground zero” for AI-generated pornography. They point to its unprecedented impact on how women are perceived and treated on the internet. Journalist and activist Rachael Higgins focused on the site’s discriminatory nature:
She remembered a specific time when the site published 6,000 photos of AOC’s decapitated face. This opened her up to having deepfake pornography made in her likeness.
In response, Higgins expressed her disgust over the sexist and misogynistic rhetoric permeating the website. She said, “The most disturbing thing for me was actually the language that was used to describe women on that site. She insisted, “We had to change it for our web report. We didn’t want to re-traumatizing people. This is misogyny—this is misogyny, this is hatred.”
Patrizia Schlosser, a victim of deepfake exploitation herself, opened up about the psychological distress she faces knowing her likeness is used without permission. “It’s strange how the brain works. You know it’s not true but yet you’re looking at it,” she shared. As someone once said, “It’s not you, but it is you. Here you are with a dog, or with a dog on a chain. You feel violated but confused. At some point, I decided: ‘No. I’m angry. I don’t want those images out there.’”
Mr. DeepFakes’ case is a poignant reminder of how digital platforms have become powerful tools for those looking to commit egregious privacy and agency violations. Compton, a researcher in online abuse, pointed out how authorities could have acted sooner to prevent such sites from proliferating: “What’s so depressing about reading the messages and seeing the genesis is realizing how easily governments could have stopped this in its tracks.”
Though it went offline last year, the legacy of Mr. DeepFakes continues to fuel fierce discussions. Feminists are howling about consent, technology, and gender dynamics out there in our digital world. The dangers presented by deepfake technology underscore important ethical considerations that our society should engage with in the future.