"Deepfake Horror"... Photos of Teachers Disappearing from Graduation Albums

Kyochong Announces Survey Results of 3,537 Teachers
Trend of Omitting Homeroom Teachers' Photos
Concerns Over Taking Photos with Students

Teachers' faces are disappearing from graduation albums. A survey revealed that 9 out of 10 teachers worry that their photos included in graduation albums might be misused for deepfake crimes. Additionally, 8 out of 10 teachers said they are even concerned about taking photos with students.

The Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) announced on the 15th that a survey conducted from the 30th of last month to the 9th of this month targeting 3,537 teachers from nationwide kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools found that 93.1% of teachers responded that they are concerned about "deepfake crimes, photo manipulation, or portrait rights violations using graduation photos."

In fact, the number of teachers including their photos in graduation albums is decreasing. 72.5% of respondents said, "The inclusion of photos is gradually decreasing." Regarding homeroom teachers' face photos (such as profile pictures), 20.4% answered "Do not include any," and 17.7% said "Include only for those who wish." In class group photos, 14.9% did not include the homeroom teacher's photo. This means that even homeroom teachers are disappearing from graduation albums.

Not only in graduation album photos but also during school life, 83.9% of teachers expressed concern about problems such as deepfake and photo manipulation when taking pictures with students.

When asked about the extent to which teachers' photos should be included in graduation albums, 49.8% said "Only for those who wish," which was the highest, and 38.7% said "Should not include any." More than half of the respondents also answered that graduation albums should not be produced. Among respondents, 67.2% said "Should not be produced," which is more than twice the 32.8% who said "Should be produced."

The survey also showed that students themselves are reluctant to have their photos included in graduation albums for fear of being used in deepfakes. When asked whether the number of students reluctant to include or wanting to remove their photos from graduation albums is increasing, 45.5% of teachers answered "Yes."

The KFTA stated, "Teachers' photos are being uploaded without permission on students' and parents' SNS and group chats, becoming objects of ridicule, and even being manipulated into sexual exploitation materials or stolen for scam sites, which sadly diminishes the meaning of the teacher-student relationship." They emphasized, "Measures are needed to protect personal information and to prevent and eradicate deepfake crimes."