Exposing the Dark Side of ‘Decline Porn’: Fake AI Videos Taking Over Social Media
A new wave of deepfake videos is flooding social media platforms, showcasing absurd scenes of urban decline in Western cities like London, Manchester, San Francisco, and New York.
These fake videos, often purporting to be in the same south London neighborhood of Croydon, have become part of a wider trend dubbed ‘decline porn’. They portray cities as overrun with immigrants and crime, fuelling anger and racist backlash among some viewers who take them at face value.
The BBC tracked down the originator of the Croydon AI videos, who uses the online handle RadialB. He claims his content is intended to be funny, but also wants people to believe his fake scenes are real to grab their attention.
RadialB’s fake videos portray grimy Croydon waterparks and an arcade machine filled with knives. He says the creation of the AI water park, zoo, and aquarium in Croydon was ‘just part of the progression of things getting more and more funny or absurd’.
However, his videos have sparked racism and backlash, with some users calling out the unfair racial stereotypes of their neighborhood. One black TikTok user from Croydon said the trend falsely portrayed the area as ‘ghetto’.
The use of AI tools has made it easier for people to create and share fake content, with RadialB saying it ‘hugely lowers the barrier for entry’ for anyone who wants to make ‘fake stuff’.
The deepfakes fit into an existing trend of videos presenting European and American cities as falling into urban decay due to crime and immigration. Sometimes they show real examples of phone-snatching, homelessness, and grime, but often they are exaggerated or fabricated.
