In January, streamer Brandon "Atrioc" Ewing accidentally revealed to the world his obsession with deepfake pornography (explicit photos and videos fabricated with AI) featuring popular Twitch streamers including Maya Higa and Pokimane. He tearfully shot a video apology and posted a statement on Twitlonger (opens in new tab). After about six weeks of reflection, he has reinvented himself as an anti-deepfake-porn vigilante.

As reported by Kotaku (opens in new tab), Ewing said in a March 14 stream that he has been working with "reporters, technicians, researchers, and women who have been victimized" in recent weeks to figure out ways to combat deepfake pornography. He also sent $60,000 to the Los Angeles-based law firm Morrison Rothman to help defray the costs of women who want to use the firm for removal requests and "reputation management." The law firm confirmed to the site that the amount was paid "to be used solely for the benefit of women who have been victimized by deepfakes or similar issues."

Ewing also said it is currently working with Ceartas (opens in new tab), a company that offers AI-powered identification and removal of illegal content from more than 150,000 websites and search engines Ceartas offers multiple subscriptions starting at $99 per month. The company claims that its service has a 98% success rate and has reduced revenue losses for creators by more than $250 million. It is also recognized by OnlyFans (opens in new tab) as an official "secure partner."

Other streamers have joined him to continue testing the Ceartas system, Ewing said, including at least one streamer pictured in the deepfake pornography he watched in January. He also said that just a day or two before his stream, Caitlin "Amourance" Siragusa contacted him and inquired about this service.

"I think she had kind of heard about the work I was doing," Ewing said. 'I had never talked to her. And she asked if I could help her remove her stuff. I think that was for someone else's benefit, and word got around. But she reached out to me. But she reached out to me. So now I'm working with her

"Anyone who thinks this is a problem for them and thinks I can help them, I'm willing to do it. I'm really willing and want to help."

Ewing's conversion from deepfake consumer to anti-deepfake crusader was swift, to say the least: one streamer on Twitter (open in new tab) appreciated that he was using his own money to get deepfake videos removed, but "he got caught He only did it because he got caught."