Atrioc Apologizes For Viewing Deepfake Content

Popular streamer Atrioc gave an emotional apology on a live stream while his partner could be seen crying in the background.

He was apologising for viewing deepfake content of an explicit nature. Some of the deep fakes on the site feature popular streamers such as Pokimane and Maya Higa.

During the apology, he clearly expressed his embarrassment and regret. He also stated that he was totally against content of this specific nature and briefly explained how he came to view this troublesome site. For those who don’t yet know, he was caught viewing this site as he shared his screen briefly with viewers, and one of the tabs visible was a link to a deepfake adult site.

Atrioc claims that he has been obsessed with AI technology of late, and this eventually lead him down a rabbit hole. In his own words, ‘morbid curiosity got the better of me,’ and this resulted in him purchasing content from a deepfake site that was selling content of an adult nature. He claims it was a one-time thing and that he could prove this as the billing receipt was from the same day his tab was discovered.

How was Atrioc’s Apology Received?

There is an opinion that because he knows some of the streamers and their partners, viewing these deep fake images/videos is even worse than it would be for someone who is merely a fan or attracted to a particular streamer.

As one might expect, the reaction to this apology was mixed.

There were those viewing the apology live who felt sorry for him since the majority of us never need to apologize for the content we view behind closed doors, and there were those who had no trace of sympathy whatsoever.

The Problem of Deep Fake

QTCinderella responded to this story on Twitter. Her point about this not being part of the job is a powerful one and is, unfortunately, a problem all female streamers face today.

Female talent of any description being sexualised in some manner is not a new phenomenon, of course, but the issue of deepfake certainly is. In a tearful video, the streamer promised to sue the founder of this deepfake website.

Due to this being a relatively new problem, the laws are not that clear. There are currently 46 states in the U.S. that have effective laws in place to criminalise those who share explicit nature of a person without their consent, but only two states have laws to criminalize deepfake images/videos without consent.

This will almost certainly develop over time, but it is unclear for now how much power female streamers have when it comes to attempting to take down this type of material.

Streamer Sweet Anita also said that this story is how she discovered she was on such a site. She referenced how she turned down millions not to get involved in such industries only for content like this to exist.

Female streamers have always needed to go to some length to avoid harassment online. There are methods and practices in place to prevent streamers from being placed in harm’s way, but it is nearly impossible for now to stop some weirdos from profiting from using their images for deepfake content.

Will this Scandal harm Atrioc’s Streaming Career?

On the list of things I never want to do, apologising for my sexual behavior has to rank highly. It is firstly embarrassing, and however good your apology is, viewers can’t escape the feeling that the apology is coming from a place of regret at being caught rather than genuinely realising how badly you acted within the space of one day.

As for Atrioc’s reputation, it is clear that he will lose a lot of fans from this, and he might also lose a few revenue streams, which tends to be the case when famous streamers are caught up in scandals that could potentially harm them and brands that are in association with them.

It will be interesting to see what the fallout from this will be and if any good can potentially come from it.