YouTuber suspended for mocking women's concerns over rise of deepfake sex crimes

YouTube has suspended a Korean YouTuber from earning revenue after he uploaded a video mocking women who are concerned about the rise of deepfake pornography in the country.

YouTuber PPKKa, wearing a mask, speaks in a video posted on Monday where he mocks women concerned about the rise of deepfake porn in the country. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

YouTube has suspended a Korean YouTuber from earning revenue after he uploaded a video mocking women who are concerned about the rise of deepfake pornography in the country.

PPKKa, a "cyber wrecker" YouTuber with 1.19 million subscribers as of Friday, was barred from monetizing his content starting Thursday, according to a report by Newsis citing a YouTube official.

Cyber wreckers are YouTubers who specialize in posting videos that target specific people, mostly celebrities but sometimes noncelebrities like infamous criminals, to attract viewers and ultimately make money.

"We suspended PPKKa's participation in the YouTube Partner Program based on our creator responsibility guidelines, which outline the actions we can take if a creator's behavior, either on or off the platform, harms the YouTube community," the official said. "As a result, the channel can no longer generate revenue on YouTube."

The controversial video has also been removed from the platform for violating YouTube’s community guidelines, which prohibit content that exposes individuals to physical harm in social or political contexts.

According to the website Is This Channel Monetized, which tracks YouTube channels' monetization status, PPKKa's channel has been excluded from the YouTube Partner Program. Features such as donation options and member-only video access have also been removed from the channel.

In the video posted on Monday, PPKKa, who appeared with his face covered by a mask, presented an online post from a woman asking people to remove all photos of their face from social media. He dismissed the concerns, saying, "Such posts are spreading and causing a fuss."

He also advised his viewers to "avoid" those who "react and engage closely with such information."

PPKKa further criticized former interim co-head of the liberal Democratic Party Park Ji-hyun for calling to "declare a state of disaster" in response to the rise in deepfake digital sex crimes. He accused Park of "stirring up people" and disparaged her claim that there are 220,000 victims, saying, "She's clearly out to promote misandry. What kind of national disaster is this? She's gone crazy."

Following the video's release, viewers left comments in various languages, such as "Is it right to blame the victims instead of the perpetrators?" and "Support for Korean women," and reported the video.

Korea has been grappling with a surge in deepfake pornography. On Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered a crackdown to "eradicate" these crimes.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]