00:00These women have had enough of a social media scourge.
00:07The number of reported deepfake cases has exploded in recent weeks, with chat rooms
00:13exposed containing thousands of members, creating and disseminating fabricated sexual images
00:20of real girls and women.
00:22Most perpetrators are teenagers.
00:25In this chat room, people can easily obtain deepfake photos by paying money through a
00:30bot system.
00:32Independent journalist Won Yoon-ji cracked open the first major case earlier this year.
00:37Dozens of women harassed with their photographs converted into deepfake porn.
00:42His attempts to really humiliate me and try to get me to respond, that really, really
00:50just felt like a physical assault.
00:53After building trust with a suspect over the encrypted messaging service Telegram, Yoon-ji
00:58lured him out, organising women's underwear to be dropped off at a university toilet block.
01:04When he came to collect, police swooped.
01:07After nearly two years of conversation, it was the only moment I saw hope.
01:12I thought, this crime will end now, the victims can finally rest easy.
01:18Facing a police investigation, Telegram has set up an exclusive email for authorities.
01:23The government's pushing for a hotline.
01:26Many women aren't waiting, deleting their social media photos en masse.
01:31This problem is being viewed almost as a national disaster in Korea.
01:35Creating deepfake material can result in a jail sentence of up to five years or a fine
01:40of almost US$40,000.
01:43Politicians are now calling for even tougher measures, including lowering the age of criminal
01:48responsibility.
01:49What victims want is a change in attitudes among men.
01:53So I'm less worried about the technologies than with the persistent misogyny and rape
02:00culture.
02:01A need to prevent a problem that's proliferating in South Korea and abroad.
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