Coming Soon: Searching for Mr. Deepfakes
6/1/20263 min
Coming this month, Mostly Human presents Searching for Mr. Deepfakes — a four-part investigation into the man behind the largest deepfake porn site on the internet and the real-world harm this new form of digital abuse causes.
In 2022, Laurie Segall came across one of the most dystopian sites she’d ever seen. It was called Mr. Deepfakes and it was filled with videos of celebrities, politicians, and famous women of all sorts in these sexually graphic, often violent videos doing things they would never do. What’s worse, it wasn’t just a destination for passive viewing, it was a community, a place where users could teach, learn, and build technology explicitly designed to violate women — whether famous or not. Mr. Deepfakes wasn’t the only deepfake porn site out there, but it was by far the biggest and most influential, exposing thousands of women in the most vulnerable way. And yet the person behind Mr. Deepfakes had remained anonymous. His anonymity made him powerful and dangerous. It protected him from what little recourse the victims on his site had to get their videos taken down, to protect themselves. This isn’t just about one man, or one site, it’s about the future of consent in a world consumed by AI.
Listen to Searching for Mr. Deepfakes starting June 4. Check out the Mostly Human Searching for Mr. Deepfakes Tik Tok series now.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsLaurie Segall· Host0:00
I went on a journey to find one of the most dangerous men on the internet, and it was the most insane investigation of my career.
Speaker 1· Soundbite0:07
She said to me, "I feel like I'm digital [beep]."
Speaker 2· Soundbite0:10
Or you're trying to unmask somebody that doesn't want to be found.
Laurie Segall· Host0:13
My name is Laurie Segall, host of Mostly Human, a tech podcast through a human lens. And in my 15 years as a technology journalist, I've seen some wild things, but none so dangerous, so insidious, as a site called Mr. DeepFakes. It's a site filled with videos of celebrities, politicians, and influencers in these sexually graphic, often violent videos doing things that they would never do.
Speaker 3· Soundbite0:38
Sexual deep fake photos of Taylor Swift went viral on social media.
Speaker 40:44
Shared over 47 million times on X in what advocacy groups say is a form of sexual abuse.
Laurie Segall· Host0:51
What's worse is that Mr. DeepFakes wasn't just a destination for passive viewing. It was a community, a place where users could teach, learn, and build technology explicitly designed to violate women. Oh, and of course, make money off of all of it.
Speaker 5· Soundbite1:06
"I'd be happy to make you something that really gets you off. I'm new, so I'm cheap."
Speaker 61:09
"Hi, this is awesome technology. Is it bad I want a deep fake of my sister-in-law?"
Speaker 7· Soundbite1:14
"I'm interested in finding someone who could make some realistic-looking fakes of women I know in real life. I think it would be fun and hot to view them engaged in sexual activities that they themselves wouldn't even do."
Laurie Segall· Host1:26
It quickly became clear that this new kind of digital abuse wasn't just