Atrioc Returns To Streaming After Deepfake Mess

Twitch streamer Atrioc has returned to the platform after six weeks of self-imposed exile since he got himself in hot water by accidentally revealing on stream that he had a tab open to deepfake pornography of fellow Twitch streamers, including Pokimane, Maya Haga and QTCinderella.

Though the actual footage of Atrioc having the offending tab open wasn't particularly scandalous, the implication was, and the fallout was devastating. Later on the day of the incident, Atrioc compounded the controversy with a panicked, tearful apology stream that featured his wife crying behind him — coming off as an odd decision to many.

He claimed that visiting such a website was not a habit of his and that he ended up there through "morbid curiosity" after clicking on an ad from another pornographic website.

A second apology in the form of a Twitlonger did some work to repair the damage in the eyes of his critics, particularly because Atrioc promised to help women affected by deepfake pornography by funding legal efforts to get such content off the internet.

In his return to Twitch yesterday, Atrioc provided an update on that endeavor. He said that in the week following the incident, he had given “$60,000” to the law firm Morrison Rothman, which is aiding streamers including QTCinderella to remove NSFW deepfake content from the internet. He also says he's been working with researchers in streaming and deepfake technology to assist in any way he can.

He also claims that the women directly impacted by the incident, including Amouranth, QTCinderella, Maya Higa and Pokimane, are aiding his cause, and Maya Higa has personally accepted his apology.

Following his stream, many Atrioc fans online acknowledged that these were positive steps as the streamer attempts a contentious comeback.

Atrioc says he will only stream intermittently as he focuses on combatting deepfakes.