This is one hell of an HR violation…
Twitch streamer Atrioc, whose real name is Brandon Ewing, was caught live on stream using deepfake porn of other streamers! Yeah, WTF?
On Monday a clip from one of Ewing’s gaming streams surfaced showing he had left a tab open on his desktop with some very NSFW images on the forefront of the page. This wouldn’t be the first time a streamer had accidentally (or not-so-accidentally) shown porn on livestream. Twitch is usually very fast at catching these things, temporarily banning streamers who break their terms of service by showing something inappropriate, but the few seconds of the AI-created nudes seemingly weren’t caught by the company — but eagle-eyed viewers knew what they saw…
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Upon closer inspection, everything got more disturbing. The photos were reportedly manipulations of the 31-year-old’s fellow streamers Pokimane and Maya Higa. It was also discovered that QTCinderella‘s likeness was on the site as well, among others. So he had been not only looking at, but allegedly paying for, deepfake porn. To make it even worse, these women aren’t just his colleagues, they’re apparently his good friends!
Later in the day, the Twitch star went live on stream with his wife Arianna Ewing to address the situation. His excuse? He’s just got a very deep interest in AI art.
Uh huh…
There are ways to look into artificial intelligence without looking at non-consensual porn of your friends, you know…
During the stream, he apologized for his “morbid curiosity”:
“This is so embarrassing, but I was on a regular website, and there was an ad on every video … and then I click it, and then I’m in this rabbit hole. I got morbidly curious and I clicked something. It’s gross and I’m sorry. It’s so embarrassing. There is no excuse for it. I’m not defending it in any way, I think this whole category of stuff is wrong”
He claimed it wasn’t a “pattern of behavior” — but still admitted to paying for access to the site. How easy it would’ve been for him to not do that?! See some of his apology (below):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-O4FqEy8oA&t=13s
Why does his wife have to sit by his side, bawling over this? So he can prove she still supports him??
Since Ewing’s apology, affected streamers have responded to the situation, expressing their anger and disappointment. QTCinderella tweeted her reaction, asking people to stop spreading the link to the NSFW site:
“I want to scream. Stop. Everybody f**king stop. Stop spreading it. Stop advertising it. Stop. Being seen “naked” against your will should NOT BE A PART OF THIS JOB.”
She also went live with a video showing her instant mortified reaction. Even in her devastated emotional state, she was impressively poised as she decried the objectification of women:
Sweet Anita also responded, saying Ewing being exposed is how she found out her own images were being manipulated on the site:
“This story was how I found out that I’m on this website. I literally choose to pass up millions by not going into sex work and some random cheeto encrusted porn addict solicits my body without my consent instead. Don’t know whether to cry, break stuff or laugh at this point.”
This story was how I found out that I'm on this website. I literally choose to pass up millions by not going into sex work and some random cheeto encrusted porn addict solicits my body without my consent instead. Don't know whether to cry, break stuff or laugh at this point. https://t.co/voNoxRyVBd
— Sweet Anita (@sweetanita) January 30, 2023
Such a wild situation…
What do U think, Perezcious readers? Is this an example of AI going too far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments (below).
[Image via Atrioc/Twitch/Pokimane/QTCinderella/Maya/YouTube.]