Pokimane Responds After Being Accused Of Showing Explicit Deepfake Images Of Female Streamers On Her Stream

Pokimane addresses fresh accusations surrounding the Atrioc deepfake controversy.© NDTV Library

Twitch streamer Imane “Pokimane” Anys says the screenshot she showed on stream was censored, and that it only showed what had already appeared during Brandon “Atrioc” Ewing's original broadcast. She made the point on October 29, 2026, after allegations that she displayed explicit deepfake images of female streamers while discussing Atrioc's 2023 controversy. She also admitted she hadn't fully thought through the harm even a censored image could do. After questions came up about what viewers actually saw, she privated the livestream VOD and put out more clarification on X, going after claims that had been going around about her broadcast.

to further clarify, the screenshot i showed on stream was a censored version of what was shown on Atrioc's stream. it wasn't anything he hadn't already shown and the site can no longer be accessed as it was taken down a couple years ago. there's been a lot of misunderstanding of what's happened and sadly i felt that the gravity of the situation wouldn't have been understood or believed if i didn't show the initial incident (though censored). i privated the vod because i now understand the harm even that can cause. i've talked about this directly with the women affected, even before i made my first statement, because their feelings are and have been incredibly important to me as someone who has gone through the same thing. i've been continuously encouraged by them to share my experience and feelings (and doing my best to be mindful of them throughout). for that i'm very grateful because it feels really difficult to be in a situation where people either don't know or forgot about something that felt traumatizing.

— pokimane (@pokimanelol) October 29, 2026

Pokimane explains why she showed a censored screenshot while discussing Atrioc's 2023 controversy

Things picked up on October 28, when an X user named @moldbud claimed Pokimane had shown explicit deepfake pictures of her fellow streamers, allegedly more than what showed up on Atrioc's January 2023 livestream.

Another X user, @niquijr, defended her choice to show the screenshot. The argument was that she needed evidence to push back on claims suggesting she wasn't personally affected by what Atrioc did.

Pokimane replied to all of this the next day. She said the screenshot wasn't new material, and she had censored it on purpose before it went on screen.

“it wasn't anything he hadn't already shown,” she explained, and added that the website tied to the original incident was taken down a couple of years ago.

She also said she had misjudged what could follow from showing even a censored version. 

As for why it was included at first, Pokimane said she felt people wouldn't get how serious the original incident was without seeing it. But she has now privated the VOD, since she sees that the screenshot could still cause harm.

@Fernand54461381 @niquijr this is not true, it was a tab preview, meaning you could see what was on the page. what i showed on my stream was a screenshot of the original incident, but censored so it would not show anything explicit.

— pokimane (@pokimanelol) October 29, 2026

Pokimane disputes claims that Atrioc only displayed a website link during his original livestream

Pokimane also dealt with another claim posted on X on October 29. User @Fernand54461381 suggested Atrioc had only shown a link to the website in his 2023 broadcast, and nothing from the page itself.

She didn't accept that version. Viewers could really see the page through a browser tab preview, she said.

“this is not true, it was a tab preview, meaning you could see what was on the page,” she wrote.

Her own stream, Pokimane further clarified, showed a screenshot of the original incident but with the explicit material censored.

She also talked about the women affected by the controversy, and said she contacted them directly before she published her first public statement on October 26.

“their feelings are and have been incredibly important to me as someone who has gone through the same thing,” she wrote.

Pokimane added that the women had encouraged her to share her experience, and that she tried to stay mindful of their feelings through the whole discussion.