Last Saturday, Heejin, a university student whose name has been changed for privacy, received a chilling message on Telegram from an anonymous sender: “Your pictures and personal information have been leaked. Let’s discuss.” Upon entering the chatroom, she was confronted with a photo from her school days, followed by a manipulated, sexually explicit version of the same image, crafted with deepfake technology. Heejin’s ordeal is not isolated. Just days before, investigative journalist Ko Narin broke a story that would ripple through South Korea.
She uncovered that deepfake porn rings were operating within two major universities, a revelation that led her to discover a disturbing trend across social media platforms. Users were creating and sharing deepfake pornography in chat groups on Telegram, targeting not just university students but also high school and middle school students.
These groups, often labeled “humiliation rooms” or “friend of friend rooms,” were meticulously organized, requiring members to submit multiple photos along with personal details of the victims. Ko’s investigation revealed the scale of the issue, with over 500 educational institutions identified as targets, involving many minors under the age of 16. The response from authorities has been swift but complex.
The police are contemplating an investigation into Telegram itself, following international precedents like France’s recent actions against the app’s founder. The South Korean government has promised harsher penalties for those involved, alongside initiatives to educate young men about the gravity of such acts.
Heejin, like many others, has been left grappling with the psychological aftermath, questioning her own actions on social media. The fear of being next has led numerous women and teenagers to scrub their online presence, a self-imposed censorship in response to this digital violation. This crisis has sparked a nationwide conversation about privacy, consent, and the dark side of AI technology, highlighting the urgent need for better digital safeguards and education to combat this growing menace.
