Deepfake creators sell non-consensual videos on ‘hidden’ websites

Fake, sexually explicit videos of celebrity women from around the world are still being purchased using Mastercard and Visa credit cards, despite credit card companies stating that such transactions are not permitted.

Fan-Topia, the largest subscription website for non-consensual, sexually explicit celebrity deepfakes, touts that subscribers can pay creators for the material using Visa and Mastercard credit cards or cryptocurrency. After the site apparently shut down major accounts on the platform following a March 2023 NBC News article, deepfake accounts have returned to Fan-Topia via “hidden links.”

The new system hides much of the deepfake content and creators from the public while making it easier to pay for the material.

Deepfakes are typically deceptive digital media created using artificial intelligence, such as AI models and applications that allow users to “swap” a target’s face with that of a pornographic video. Deepfake videos predominantly feature women and girls in non-consensual, sexually explicit material. While many of the victims are public figures, deepfakes have also been used to bully girls in schools around the world. According to data from independent researcher Genevieve Oh, more sexually explicit deepfake videos were uploaded to the internet in 2023 than in any other year.

A search by NBC News on MrDeepFakes, the most popular free streaming site for sexually explicit celebrity deepfakes, found that at least 18 top creators promote “hidden links” to fan-topia sites where they sell longer versions of their content. Ten of the creators using the “hidden links” have uploaded teasers to the free site within the past 24 hours.

Deepfakes uploaded in the last 24 hours feature women such as K-pop stars, Hollywood and Bollywood actresses, and even politicians – one of which targeted Ivanka Trump, the daughter of former President Donald Trump, whose face is featured in the MrDeepFakes logo.

The “hidden links” system, called “hidemylink.vip,” hides the deepfakes from public view and serves as a $5 paywall between the creator’s profile on the free site and their subscription page on Fan-Topia, which incurs an additional subscription fee set by the creator. On Fan-Topia, users can deposit funds into a wallet and then use it to subscribe to creators. The deepfake creators are untraceable on Fan-Topia and their profile links are constantly changing, but the “hidemylink” service allows subscribers to return to the creators’ pages they were previously subscribed to at any time, even before April 2023. Searching for the deepfake creators’ Fan-Topia pages on Google doesn’t turn them up either. Once someone creates an account on “hidemylink,” it stores links to creators who have already been subscribed to.

NBC News was able to use a Visa credit card on hidemylink, but the card was not charged immediately. Hidemylink does not specify which cards it accepts. The deepfake creator’s profile, which NBC News viewed, charged $15 per month on Fan-Topia for access to over 900 posts.

Al Kelly, CEO and chairman of Visa, said in an August 2022 statement that Visa’s rules “expressly and unambiguously prohibit the use of our products to pay for content depicting non-consensual sexual conduct.” Mastercard also prohibits the use of its products to purchase content depicting non-consensual sexual activity. Visa and Mastercard have not previously responded to questions about Fan-Topia and did not immediately respond to another request for comment.

Fan-Topia is operated by a limited company called OSOMR Ltd., which is registered in the UK and was founded in 2021. Fan-Topia’s terms of service list the company’s name and its address in London. There is no information about the owners on the “Hidemylink.vip” website, but it is listed on Google Maps at the same address as OSOMR Ltd. The “hidemylink” service appears to have been operating for about 11 months, about five months after Fan-Topia was first shut down following the NBC News article.

The development of “Hidemylink” has allowed at least 15 major deepfake creators to return to Fan-Topia.

One creator’s bio on the free site states: “My page is finally back up and running. New subscribers will each receive one free request in August while I get everything back up and running.”

Some other developers appeared to stop creating deepfakes in response to the shutdown. The creator of the most viewed deepfake on the free site, who last posted from his account in April 2023, wrote: “As some of you know, my Discord server and everyone’s Fantopia have been banned. I don’t know how much longer I will continue to create deepfakes.”

Criminalization of deepfakes

Deepfake creators are using Hidemylink as scrutiny of their content has increased rapidly.

In April, the UK government announced that it would criminalise the creation of deepfakes and prosecute deepfake creators, prompting MrDeepFakes and another deepfake website to be blocked from accessing the site from the country.

But Fan-Topia, a UK-registered company, has continued operations.

Deepfake creators have suggested that the Hidemylink service offers them a new level of security and protection.

“Official regulations require a hidden link,” wrote one creator under his profile on the website All My Links, which allows users to list all the links to their social media profiles in one place.

Another deepfake creator who uses “hidemylink” wrote in his bio on MrDeepFakes: “For security reasons, the links are changed frequently.”

A similar law criminalizing sexually explicit deepfakes without consent has not passed in the U.S., although several senators and representatives have introduced bills that would address the issue.

Some fear that despite these measures, they could continue to be pushed into the darker corners of the Internet.

One of the most prolific deepfake creators, who also serves as a moderator on the MrDeepFake forums, suggested that fans reach out using their Discord or Telegram usernames or an email address they use “in case something bad happens to a site I run.”

“Like my video? Then consider supporting me by subscribing,” the creator wrote in his bio on MrDeepFakes. “Currently I impersonate about 80 celebs, but in my fake history I’ve done a lot more, more than 100 to be exact (not including the various commissions I’ve done over the years). New celebs (at least one) are added every month.”