Existence of over 230 Telegram deepfake chatrooms at middle schools, high schools, & universities across Korea causing terror and shock

On August 26 KST, a list of "Schools of Deepfake Telegram Victims" began spreading rapidly via SNS and online communities in South Korea. 

Previously, news of the existence of Telegram chatrooms where participants posted, shared, and consumed deepfake pornography using photos of their female acquaintances at school and at work caused an uproar in Korean society. 

Now, the newly revealed list of "Schools of Deepfake Telegram Victims" is further instilling fear and terror, as the list included over 230 middle schools, high schools, and universities. 

Earlier this month on August 20, a police report was filed on behalf of female students at Inha University, exposing the existence of a chatroom where female students' faces were edited onto nude bodies using deepfake. This chatroom had over 1,200 participants, and approximately 30 female students or recent graduates were victimized.

Participants in the chatrooms not only posted deepfake content using faces of Inha University students, but also shared the names and personal contact information of victims. Then, using the information shared, some members of the chatrooms began threatening victims, sending deepfake photos via text message and writing, "Is this you?". 

A similar case involving Seoul National University students occurred earlier this year, leading to the arrest of 4 chatroom admins. 

Shockingly, it is now being discovered that a vast number of these Telegram chatrooms exist at the middle school and high school level. Thousands of participants are targeting young female students by posting photos found on SNS platforms such as Instagram. What's more, it's believed that fellow students attending these middle and high schools make up the majority of participants in the chatrooms - those who can easily obtain names and personal information about victims and share them in the chatrooms, spreading private information to thousands of online users. 

Following the publication of the "Schools of Deepfake Telegram Victims" list, numerous school committees have issued warnings to their student bodies and parents, writing, "Currently, it has been discovered that edited deepfake photos and identifying information about ** High School students are being spread on Telegram. Students, please take precaution. It is advised that you delete any photos of your face on your SNS or blog."

Individuals who found their school to be on this list also took to SNS to express their terror and anxiety, writing, "The problem with this deepfake issue right now is that it constantly makes you think, 'What if I'm one of the victims?'", and "My friend found a deepfake photo of herself and now she's freaking out. Please take them down." 

According to South Korean police, a total of 297 deepfake sexual exploitation crimes have been filed between January through July of 2024. A total of 178 suspects were booked through these cases, with 131 (73.6%) being in their teens and 36 (20.2%) being in their twenties.

These deepfake Telegram chatrooms are most frequently created per school, or for larger schools, per grade level. Large chatrooms also contain categories of deepfake content per birth year of victims, including minors born between 2005~2010.