David Do appeared to live a quiet life in Ontario, working as a hospital pharmacist and earning over $120,000 annually. But an extensive joint investigation by CBC News, Bellingcat, and Danish outlets Politiken and Tjekdet has now revealed that Do played a central role in operating MrDeepFakes — the world’s most notorious website for non-consensual AI-generated pornographic content. The site was abruptly shut down following the revelations.
At its peak, MrDeepFakes hosted more than 70,000 sexually explicit deepfake videos, many depicting public figures such as Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, and Taylor Swift, as well as private citizens including social media influencers and even ordinary individuals whose images were submitted by users. The site reportedly drew over 18 million monthly visits and facilitated a black market where custom AI-generated videos were sold for up to $400.
Do operated under the alias “DPFKS,” maintaining a double life that only unraveled after CBC’s visual investigations team linked forum posts, emails, usernames, leaked passwords, and social media accounts to his real identity. Despite repeated outreach from CBC News, Do declined to comment, eventually disappearing from social media and being tracked to Portugal shortly after a reporter hand-delivered a letter to his hospital workplace.
The shutdown message on MrDeepFakes.com cited a terminated service provider and irrecoverable data loss. The website now displays a message indicating it will not return. Oak Valley Health, Do’s employer, confirmed it had launched an internal investigation. Meanwhile, the Ontario College of Pharmacists has stated that it is treating the allegations with utmost seriousness.
Do’s exposure has reignited urgent conversations about the need for federal legislation in Canada to criminalize the creation and distribution of deepfake pornography. While countries like the U.K., Australia, and various U.S. states have outlawed such material, Canada has yet to follow suit. Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged during the election campaign to make such content illegal, but no federal law currently exists.
Victims of deepfake pornography, such as YouTuber Sarah Z. and wrestler Gail Kim, expressed the trauma and violation they experienced from being featured on the now-defunct site. The investigation also revealed disturbing violent content and requests for fake pornography involving people’s wives and partners, exposing how widespread and invasive the abuse had become.
