Female streamer experiences severe emotional distress after deepfake pornography featuring her likeness is viewed and shared by Twitch streamer during live broadcast

Summary

A Twitch streamer named Atrioc (Brandon Ewing) was found to have viewed deepfake pornography featuring female streamers, including QTCinderella, during a live stream on January 30. A screenshot of the stream showing the deepfake website was shared on Reddit, exposing the names and images of the victims to a wide audience. QTCinderella described experiencing severe body dysmorphia and emotional distress after seeing the deepfakes, stating the violation went beyond just being traumatic. Ewing apologized for his actions, claiming he accessed the content out of "morbid curiosity" and announced he would stop making content while working with law firms to remove the deepfakes. Experts warn that non-consensual deepfake pornography, which predominantly features women, can cause lasting psychological harm and undermine a person’s sense of self-ownership and safety. In the UK, a new law will soon make creating or sharing deepfake porn illegal, punishable by up to two years in prison.