The New York District Attorney announced on Monday that it has seized 12 websites hosting AI-generated non-consensual intimate imagery, primarily of celebrities and public figures.
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it → announce → celebrities
The DA’s office said it believes that this marks the largest seizure of such sites in history.
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this → say → history
The people using and running these sites who are now under investigation used AI tools to turn approximately 1,200 people’s photos into “hyper-realistic” images and videos of them engaged in sexual conduct, according to the DA’s office.
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who → use → office
The images allegedly depicted “politicians, first ladies of multiple countries, primarily public-facing individuals, including actors, politicians, athletes, musicians, social justice advocates, and social media influencers.
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images → depict → actors
New York has had laws specifically criminalizing sexually explicit deepfakes in place since 2023.
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York → have → 2023
Bragg referenced this legislation when asked what law the office is acting on.
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office → reference → law
“While the victims of these sites are largely celebrities, we know that anyone can be a victim in these crimes, particularly in domestic violence cases, many of our intimate violence cases involve threats to at least images and videos, and we know that deepfakes are being used in the same way,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in the press conference Monday.
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Bragg → know → conference
If you let us know that an image has been posted without your permission, without your consent, we can take action as long as that website is accessible from Manhattan.”
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website → let → Manhattan
Bragg declined to answer whether images of minors were included in these websites, saying, “The investigation is ongoing.”
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investigation → decline → websites
In June, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security seized two domains that were being used to publish “thousands of digitally forged images and videos depicting famous women as nude and sometimes engaged in sexual activity, without their consent,” and featured topics like “rape,” “forced,” and “degradation,” according to a press release.
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that → seize → release
Images on those sites allegedly depicted politicians, first ladies of multiple countries, royalty, journalists, television presenters, athletes, entertainers, and others.
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Images → depict → countries
And in May 2025, the massive deepfakes hosting site and forum MrDeepfakes.com shut down following an investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Company, Der Spiegel, and Bellingcat.
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site → host → Company
Earlier this month, the first man in the country to be convicted of violating the Take It Down Act was sentenced to 15 years in prison, after investigators found more than 3,000 real and AI-generated abuse images on his devices.
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investigators → convict → devices
Slightly altered images of women who are public figures are taking over social media sites like X.com, 404 Media reported last month.
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Media → alter → X.com
These images are often not completely nude AI images of women, or face-swapped sexual material, but depict women as wearing more revealing clothing than they did in the real photo or video, or with digitally altered bodies.
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they → swap → bodies
The DA’s office is encouraging victims of deepfakes to contact its Cyber Crime Bureau at (212) 335-9600.
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office → encourage → 9600
Bragg said targets of deepfakes might not know that something can be done, and wants them to know there’s a “cop on the beat.”
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them → say → beat
“Our message to the people who are creating and publishing this content: What you are doing is a crime.
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doing → create → What
We are investigating, and support survivors in taking down this content and seeking accountability for folks who break the law,” Bragg said.
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Bragg → investigate → law
The Aporia
