Atrioc apologizes a second time with pledge to help women affected by deepfake websites

Atrioc made a tearful on-air apology earlier this week when he accidentally showed a deepfake porn website on his computer during a stream. The deepfake website included fake depictions of multiple content creators, and in a second statement today, he pledged a course of further action to help those victimized by his actions.

With a post to Twitter, Atrioc gave a direct apology to two specific creators whose likeness was stolen for deepfakes that appeared on his stream and announced that he would be taking a break from content creation and OFFBRAND to focus on efforts to help remove illicit deepfake content from the internet.

“You have both succeeded in this industry in spite of all the blatant unfounded sexist attempts to hurt or assassinate your character in a male dominated space,” he said. “Now I’m another guy on that long list. I’m sorry I didn’t reach out sooner, I’m sorry my actions have lead to further exploitation of you and your body.”

Related: ‘That’s it’: Pokimane demands change after deepfake plague hits critical mass 

He also said that he has talked with QTCinderella, who has already begun work with esports lawyer Ryan Morrison’s firm to take down the website leaked on Atrioc’s Twitch. QT said that she originally hesitated to make a statement on stream, but clips of her emotional response have already sparked a much-needed conversation about the way deepfakes victimize women.

There are not many laws against this genre of pornography because it isn’t widely known. But it frequently gets compared to “revenge porn” because it ultimately involves the usage of someone’s likeness in a pornographic context without their consent. Only a few U.S. states have laws against deepfakes and even some of those laws are specifically catered toward restricting the creation and use of deepfakes to influence political elections.

While the original website that Atrioc leaked on stream has already been taken down, he said that he plans on working with Morrison’s firm and others as he dedicates his time to further supporting victims and removing this content from the internet.

“I have spoken with Morrison and am working to cover the financial cost of the takedown as well as all legal fees for all women affected to use his services for removing their unwanted content from the web,” he said. “Additionally, I am engaging more law firms to continue to remove this content from other areas of the internet such as Reddit.”

In response to much of the ongoing conversations online about deepfakes, one female streamer affected by the situation spoke out on social media to let people understand just how harmful this content is. 

“If anyone doesn’t think it’s a big deal that MY NAME is in headlines where thousands of people are commenting on the sexualization of MY BODY against MY WILL, you are the problem,” she wrote. “This situation makes me feel disgusting, vulnerable, nauseous, and violated – and all of these feelings are far too familiar to me. This is not your debate. Stop acting like it is.”