How Hobbyists Fueled Global Deepfake Exploitation

The world's largest nonconsensual deepfake porn site, Mr DeepFakes, which garnered over 2 billion views, has ceased operations. This platform, considered "ground zero" for AI-generated pornography and credited with coining the term "deepfake," allowed users to create and order explicit content featuring celebrities and private individuals. Its forum acted as a technical hub for "hobbyists" to share techniques and academic papers, contributing to the rapid spread of the technology.

Film-maker Sophie Compton suggests that governments had an opportunity to stop the rise of deepfake porn much earlier, citing the community's surprise at the lack of intervention. The site's genesis was on Reddit in 2017-18, but after Reddit banned deepfake porn in early 2018, "deepfakes" and others migrated to create Mr DeepFakes. This unchecked growth, accelerated by events like COVID-19, led to widespread exploitation.

Despite its commercial aspects, including cryptocurrency payments and advertisements generating thousands of dollars monthly, the site's primary motivation was notoriety and the dissemination of misogynistic content. The recent shutdown was attributed to "data loss" after a critical service provider withdrew. While Mr DeepFakes is gone, the creators continue their work, and the accessibility of deepfake technology has exploded, making it a persistent global concern.