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Author: Andreanne Bergeron, Affiliate Professor, Criminology, Université de Montréal
Original article: https://theconversation.com/in-terms-of-violence-whats-the-difference-between-classic-real-porn-and-deepfake-porn-platforms-251309
Earlier this year, doctored pornographic images of singer Taylor Swift that were widely circulated online drew attention to the growing phenomenon of deepfakes. While some see these as a technological innovation for artistic purposes, others consider them a worrying development in how digital technologies are being used to perpetuate gender-based violence.
This observation raises an essential question: Is there a notable difference in terms of violence between the content of online pornographic videos versus those on sites dedicated to fake pornography?
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As a criminologist and associate professor at the Université de Montréal, my research focuses mainly on cybercrime, where I strive to bridge the gap between the academic world and cybersecurity. By combining my expertise in criminology and cybercrime, my work helps improve the understanding of online threats.
Deepfake: What is it and why?
Deepfake is a portmanteau combining “deep learning” and “fake.” This technology makes it possible to simulate the identity of a person or character using visual and auditory information collected by artificial intelligence. The technique makes it possible to impersonate someone and, if the person’s consent is not obtained beforehand, steal their identity. Deepfakes can be very realistic.
This is a worrying phenomenon — fake videos can go viral and contribute to public misinformation. For example, some victims have lost money after following the financial advice of an “expert” who turned out to be a deepfake.
Pornographic deepfakes are equally worrying, as they raise important ethical questions, particularly with regard to consent. In fact, according to a 2019 study, 96 per cent of deepfake videos are non-consensual pornography, mainly involving female celebrities.
In the early days, pornographic deepfakes were often associated with the phenomenon of “revenge porn,” the act of disclosing intimate photos of a former partner to take revenge on them. The improvement of deepfake software, making it easier to use, has helped make it more widely accessible.
It’s also important to mention that this kind of content encourages the perpetration of sexual abuse, with often devastating consequences for the victims. From this view point, it becomes important to better understand the phenomenon of pornographic deepfakes in order to mitigate the consequences.
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Comparative violence
In order to observe whether the level of violence in video content and consumer attitudes is comparable, I conducted a comparative analysis of a pornographic video platform and a deepfake pornography platform.
To do this, I used data previously collected by Justine Laplante during studies in the security and police studies program at the Universite de Montréal.
I analyzed the titles of the most popular videos — by number of views — on each of the two platforms, as well as the most popular comments on these videos with the highest number of “likes.” This technique makes it possible to observe the content that is most consumed by users, showing what the strongest trends are.
Levels of violence
On the real pornography platform, the titles of the videos contained an element of violence in 20.8 per cent of cases. An example of a title containing violence is “No mercy for her throat.” Women were the target of violence in 80 per cent of cases. The most popular videos on the fake pornography platform contained elements of violence in 4.8 per cent of cases.
Based on the results of my study, we can conclude that real pornography does more to devalue women and promote violence against them than fake pornography does.
Without being directly related to violence, we made an interesting observation in relation to incest: 33 per cent of titles on the real pornography platform contained incest, while this was the case for only four per cent of videos on the editing platform.
Criminal justice scholar Amber Morczek writes that the normalization of certain deviant behaviours, the reinforcement of taboo fantasies and the potential desensitization to themes such as incest can all reinforce the problem of sexual violence.
My observations regarding the presence of incest and violence in the titles of videos led to the conclusion that the real pornography platform contributes more to the degradation of women than fake pornography does.
Consumer attitudes towards pornographic videos
An analysis of the comments reveals notable trends in consumer behaviour. In real pornography, eight per cent of the comments reflect demeaning attitudes towards women, compared to four per cent on fake video platforms.
According to linguist Stephen Pihlaja, the objective of consumption is more oriented towards personal pleasure.
In this respect, it can be seen that 40 per cent of the comments on classic pornography sites express personal satisfaction, while 52 per cent compliment the production team or the actors and actresses. On fake pornography platforms, 54 per cent express appreciation for the production work, while 17 per cent mention their personal satisfaction, and 29 per cent remain neutral.
The digital violence of pornographic deepfakes
Despite the fact that consumers express fewer degrading comments about women on the deepfake pornography platform, the proliferation of this technology raises serious ethical questions, particularly about consent and violating personal integrity.
Unlike pornographic actors who voluntarily agree to participate in explicit productions and generally receive payment in exchange, individuals who are victims of pornographic deepfakes have never given consent for their image to be used. This lack of consent gives these videos an intrinsically violent dimension, comparable to a form of violation of privacy.
The invasive and coercive nature of these practices is reminiscent of the dynamics of sexual assault, where the person’s integrity and will are violated.
Andreanne Bergeron ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.
