[War on Deepfake] Repeated Deletions and Quiz Creation... Deepfake Crimes Escalate to Evade Crackdown

19 Deepfake Rooms Deleted Over 5 Days
Repeated Reopening Evades Crackdown
'Verification Rooms' with Stricter Entry Conditions Appear

Despite the police's strong response to sexual crimes on Telegram, it has been confirmed that Telegram chat rooms known as 'Jinin Neungyok Bang' continue to grow. They mock investigative agencies by deleting rooms after a certain period or increasing security levels, and continue their crimes.

According to a compilation of reports by Asia Economy on the 30th, 19 large deepfake Telegram rooms were deleted over five days starting from the 24th. Among them was the recently reported '1,900-member entry room.' In this room, deepfake pornography targeting female family members was shared. Additionally, there were rooms where requests were made to create deepfakes targeting K-pop idols, teachers, and specific students.

A deepfake Telegram room reopened on the 28th, with about 10 sub-rooms established.
[Photo by Telegram screen capture]

Evading Surveillance by Deleting Rooms... Even Interview Conditions Required for Entry

However, some of the deleted Telegram rooms were reopened under the same name within a few days. They continue their crimes by repeatedly deleting and reopening rooms to evade law enforcement crackdowns.

Moreover, they marked the number of times a room was deleted and reopened next to the room title. For example, one Telegram room added the label 'Season 7' to indicate it had been deleted six times and reopened. The reopened rooms grew to more than ten sub-rooms within just one day. They categorized rooms by region and university to produce deepfakes.

As deepfake sexual crimes came under scrutiny, signs of attempts to strengthen room security to avoid external exposure were also observed. A Telegram room operating a synthesis room exclusively for journalists increased security so that entry was only possible by answering a quiz. Entry was allowed only after correctly filling in the blank for the quiz 'Feminists are □□.' A so-called 'verification room' that conducts interviews upon entry also appeared. To enter the verification room, one must pass tasks such as △possessing 300 illegal photos of a person presumed to be a teacher △holding a large amount of deepfake pornography △being enrolled in high school △continuous uploading. Additionally, those wishing to enter were instructed to first send 300 illegal photos.

A Telegram room presenting quizzes to enhance room security (left photo) and a verification room specifying interview conditions for entry (right photo) [Photo by Telegram screen capture, provided by reader]

Tracking and Evidence Collection... Netizens Act as Deepfake Snipers

As deepfake sexual crimes have not been eradicated, netizens have taken action themselves. They began sharing victim accounts on social networking services (SNS) and started tracking currently operating Telegram rooms. In fact, influencer 'Queen Archive,' who has 120,000 subscribers, is collecting evidence of crimes after receiving Telegram room addresses via SNS X (formerly Twitter). Earlier, when a post about 'Gyeopjinbang' appeared on an online community on the 24th, Queen Archive publicized the seriousness of deepfake sexual crimes through her X account.

Queen Archive told Asia Economy, "I organized 19 deepfake Telegram room addresses by gathering those shared in the link-sharing room and those reported to me," adding, "Most rooms were deleted by the 28th, but two (still operating) rooms remain on my phone." She continued, "I am currently archiving (evidence of damage) from rooms that have not been deleted," emphasizing, "If investigative agencies, the government, and the media pay attention to this issue, I believe perpetrators will be scared and unable to produce deepfakes."