Manhattan DA Seizes 12 Celebrity Deepfake Websites Depicting 1,200 People

September 14, 2026 at 09:50 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office seized 12 domains used to share nonconsensual celebrity deepfake videos. Around 1,200 people, overwhelmingly women, were depicted in the images and videos. The seizures mark one of the largest takedowns of explicit deepfake websites to date.

Key Facts

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office seized 12 domains used for sharing, publishing, and selling celebrity deepfake videos.
Around 1,200 people, overwhelmingly women, were depicted in nonconsensual sexual images and videos on the seized websites.
The seizures were carried out under New York's criminal procedure laws and mark one of the largest takedowns of explicit deepfake websites to date.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg urged potential victims to contact his office's cybercrime bureau.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has not publicly named the seized websites, but WIRED observed takedown notices on several sites late last week.

The Seizure

On Monday, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced the seizure of 12 domains used for unlawfully sharing, publishing, and selling celebrity deepfake videos. The seizures were carried out under New York's criminal procedure laws. The office has not publicly named the websites, but WIRED independently observed several homepages replaced by takedown notices stating 'THIS DOMAIN HAS BEEN SEIZED' late last week. The notices indicate the sites were taken over following a seizure warrant issued by a New York State Supreme Court.

Victims and Impact

Around 1,200 people, overwhelmingly women, were depicted in nonconsensual sexual images and videos on the websites. The victims included social media influencers, actors, activists, athletes, musicians, and politicians. District Attorney Alvin Bragg described the violations as horrific and urged potential victims to contact his office's cybercrime bureau. Leonie Oehmig, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, called the takedowns a significant win in the fight against synthetic nonconsensual intimate imagery.

Deepfake Ecosystem

Abusive deepfake websites have published thousands of nonconsensual videos depicting women, including high-profile celebrities, politicians, and public figures, for nearly a decade. As artificial intelligence technology has improved, a dark industry of websites, apps, and bots has emerged, designed to undress photos of women or create graphic sexual videos. The images and videos are increasingly realistic and can be generated in seconds. While deepfake technology is widely used against non-famous women and girls, celebrities have spoken out about the harms and challenges of getting the content removed.