About
Deepfakes are videos in which the subject is face-swapped using machine-learning algorithms. The practice was created by Redditor Deepfakes, who launched a dedicated subreddit to share the videos in November 2017. In January 2018, the FakeApp desktop application was released as a tool for creating the digitally altered videos.
History
On November 2nd, 2017, Redditor deepfakes created the /r/deepfakes[1] subreddit as a place to share his digitally-altered sexually explicit videos in which the subject’s face was swapped with a celebrity or public figure. According to the Redditor, the technology uses open-source libraries Keras and TensorFlow to perform the face-swaps.
Highlights
FakeApp
On January 8th, 2018, the deepfakeapp Reddit account announced the launch of FakeApp, an application described as “a desktop tool for creating deepfakes.”[2] That month, the /r/fakeapp[3] subreddit dedicated to discussions about the software gathered upwards of 2,500 subscribers. On January 30th, the /r/facesets[7] subreddit was launched for users to share sets of face images extracted for the creation of deepfakes.
Nic Cage Videos
On January 25th, 2018 Redditor [8]derpfakes posted a video in the /r/deepfakes subreddit, a community where in which people use a deep-learning application called FakeApp to replace the faces of people in videos, of Andy Samberg’s replaced with Nicolas Cage’s. The video (shown below) received more than 600 upvotes (97% upvoted) and 20 comments.
![](http://thumbs.gfycat.com/IllinformedBriefBluemorphobutterfly-size_restricted.gif)
Several days later, derpfakes pasted Cage’s face onto Amy Adam’s from the film Man of Steel. The post (shown below, left) received more than 2,000 points (98% upvoted) and 90 comments. Additionally, on January 26th, derpfakes put Cage’s head on Harrison Ford’s in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark (shown below, right).
![](http://thumbs.gfycat.com/YearlyNewBarb-size_restricted.gif)
![](http://thumbs.gfycat.com/FlawlessForthrightAmericanshorthair-size_restricted.gif)
Reception
On December 11th, 2017, the Vice technology news site Motherboard[4] published an article titled “AI-Assisted Fake Porn Is Here and We’re All Fucked,” which contained interviews with various experts about the ethical implications of deepfakes technology. On January 24th, Motherboard[5] published a follow-up article on the FakeApp program titled “We Are Truly Fucked: Everyone Is Making AI-Generated Fake Porn Now.” On January 31st, 2018, YouTuber Philip DeFranco uploaded a video discussing DeepFakes and FakeApp
Gfycat Removal
On January 31st, 2018, the media-hosting site Gfycat began removing all deepfakes-related media. That day, Motherboard published an article about the purge, which included a statement from a Gfycat spokespoerson who revealed the company was “actively removing this content.”
Reddit Ban
On February 7th, 2018, the /r/deepfakes subreddit was banned by Reddit staff for violating the site’s content policy “against involuntary pornography” (shown below). Aidditionaly, Reddit also removed the /r/deepfakensfw, /r/youtubefakes, /r/CelebFakes, /r/doppelbangher, /r/facesets and /r/xray subreddits.
![](http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/340/181/23a.jpg)
In a statement to the Vice tech news site Motherboard,[13] a Reddit spokesperson explained the reasoning behind the new site-wide restriction:
“Reddit strives to be a welcoming, open platform for all by trusting our users to maintain an environment that cultivates genuine conversation. As of February 7, 2018, we have made two updates to our site-wide policy regarding involuntary pornography and sexual or suggestive content involving minors. These policies were previously combined in a single rule; they will now be broken out into two distinct ones. Communities focused on this content and users who post such content will be banned from the site.”
That day, a thread about the banning reached the front page of /r/KotakuInAction.[9] Meanwhile, Redditor admin landoflobsters submitted a post to /r/announcements[14] about the site-wide rules update. Also on February 7th, several news sites published articles about the ban, including The Verge,[10] Inverse[11] and BoingBoing.[12]
Search Interest
External References
[1]Reddit – /r/deepfakes
[2]Reddit – fakeapp post
[3]Reddit – /r/fakeapp
[4]Motherboard – AI-Assisted Fake Porn Is Here and Were All Fucked
[5]Motherboard -We Are Truly Fucked
[6]Motherboard – AI-Generated Fake Porn Makers Have Been Kicked Off Their Favorite Host
[7]Reddit – /r/facesets
[8]Reddit – r/deepfakes has been banned
[9]Reddit – r/deepfakes has been banned
[10]The Verge – Reddit bans deepfakes AI porn communities
[11]Inverse – Reddit Just Banned r/Deepfakes
[12]BoingBoing – Reddit shuts down Deepfakes subreddit
[13]Motherboard – Reddit Just Shut Down the Deepfakes Subreddit
[14]Reddit – Update on site-wide rules regarding involuntary pornography and the sexualization of minors