Victims Targeted Through Graduation Photos The Dark Side of Deepfake Porn
Obscene videos of ordinary women were mass-produced for just a few thousand yen.
“Thank you very much.”
Along with this short greeting, photos of women who appear to be ordinary people are being uploaded one after another. This is on a server (invite-only community) on the community app Discord, known for its high anonymity and lax regulations, and pointed out as a breeding ground for voyeuristic images and child pornography.
In fact, this server has reportedly become a gathering place for enthusiasts of deepfake porn, a problem that has been spreading worldwide in recent years.
Deepfake porn is created by combining a celebrity’s face with existing pornographic videos. While creators have been arrested and the issue has become a social problem, these videos are not encountered in ordinary web browsing.
However, in private SNS groups or highly secretive chat apps where enthusiasts gather, enormous amounts of images and videos are exchanged daily.
On Discord, one of the hotbeds, there are countless servers where deepfake porn is actively posted, with a large volume of porn using celebrities’ faces. What they have in common is the incredible realism—so much so that one would not be able to tell they are fake unless informed.
Now, the victims of deepfake porn are not only celebrities but also ordinary people.
When the author interacted with users on a server where celebrity deepfake porn is posted, they were invited to another server.
It was a server where, if you sent photos of female talents or acquaintances and specified a situation to a creator called a magician, you could have deepfake porn made to your liking.
X, who identifies as a deepfake enthusiast, explained:
“The majority are men who commission deepfake porn of women they are interested in—colleagues or classmates—for personal enjoyment. But it seems that some women also request deepfakes of romantic rivals or disliked individuals for stress relief or harassment purposes.”
The cost depends on the length, but is typically a few thousand yen. Short, simple videos are sometimes even free. When paid, the transaction is usually through PayPay, with a download link from a file transfer service sent via DM to receive the file on one’s own PC—this is the standard method.
Looking at the chat screen inside the server, orders were flowing to the magician one after another. X noted, “It will probably decrease in the future.” But this does not mean deepfake porn will decline. Quite the opposite.
“Previously, creating realistic deepfakes required a certain level of skill and know-how. But in recent years, apps have emerged that allow anyone to easily make deepfake porn. A short video of about one minute can now be made in roughly 30 seconds. Moving forward, we will enter an era where enthusiasts will create their own sophisticated deepfake porn self-sufficiently.”
A message requesting the creation of deepfake porn. Images posted online are turned into materials like this.Even elementary school videos appear on servers providing deepfake porn
On another server reached via X’s guidance, not sexual videos or images, but numerous graduation album photos from elementary to high school were posted. The purpose was chilling.
“They are being exchanged as materials for deepfake porn. Deepfake porn involving minors is not uploaded to the network because it would be problematic, and thus it’s not uploaded to the server either. Enthusiasts generally enjoy it privately. Photos of minors who are ordinary people are rarely publicly available on social media, so enthusiasts trade these materials among themselves on the server,” said X.
The thought that deepfake porn of oneself, one’s family, or one’s partner could be created and consumed without consent is horrifying—but is there no legal recourse?
Lawyer Hirotaro Kato of Kato & Todoroki Law Office, an expert in sexual crime issues, explained:
“In countries such as the UK, France, and South Korea, laws have been enacted or amended to directly criminalize sexual deepfakes. In Japan, however, the current approach is to apply defamation or insult laws, and if images of minors are used, the Child Pornography Prohibition Law.
Under current law, even if a creator is caught, the punishment tends to be relatively light. If one can identify the fact that images are being used without consent, civil claims for damages such as infringement of portrait rights are possible, but when images are generated individually or circulated only in closed communities, identification is very difficult.”
To protect the dignity of all people, fundamental measures—not just temporary fixes—are required.
From the December 19 and 26, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”
Interview and text： Yuuki Okukubo (freelance writer) PHOTO： Jiji Press (3rd photo)