12 celebrity deepfake websites seized by Manhattan DA

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has seized the domains of 12 deepfake websites in what it called the largest known seizure of celebrity deepfake sites in history.

The sites, which marketed themselves as deepfake pornography platforms, hosted AI-generated videos of over 1,200 people, including those in the public eye, ranging from politicians to actors, musicians, and social justice advocates. At least one allowed users to create their own deepfakes by grafting real faces and bodies onto sexual imagery.

The term non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) is increasingly used instead of pornography when the person depicted has not given permission. Deepfake NCII is growing, due in part to the ease with which it can be created. It only takes one photo to generate it, as we discussed on the Lock and Code podcast in June.

MrDeepFakes was previously the largest site for this kind of content. Its operators shut it down in May 2025, citing data loss. An Australian man who posted explicit deepfakes to the site was arrested, fined for contempt of court, and charged with publishing obscene material.

But other deepfake NCII sites continue to compete for attention online.

Deepfake technology can cause real harm when misused, and its effects continue to spread. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg warned that domestic abusers are threatening to release deepfake NCII depicting their victims. The FBI has also warned that sextortion attackers are using AI to turn social media photos of minors into sexually explicit images.

Legal action is growing