'Mask Park' exposed: Secret Telegram group triggers outrage in China after thousands share intimate photos

Widespread public anger has erupted across China following reports that thousands of men shared non-consensual intimate photos and videos of women, many of them their girlfriends or ex-partners, on the encrypted messaging platform Telegram, according to Chinese state media.

The scandal surfaced after a report by the state-owned Southern Daily revealed that a woman discovered private photos of herself, taken without her knowledge, being circulated in a Telegram group with more than 100,000 members, most of them believed to be Chinese men.

The group, reportedly named “Mask Park,” has since been taken down, but smaller offshoots continue to operate, Southern Daily reported. Telegram is banned in China but remains accessible through virtual private networks (VPNs).

According to a commentary in Guangming Daily, a Chinese Communist Party-backed outlet, members of the forum also shared photos of their wives, girlfriends, and ex-girlfriends.

The scandal comes just weeks after a Chinese university expelled a female student for “damaging national dignity” after a Ukrainian esports player shared intimate videos of them on Telegram—sparking further debate about gender double standards and victim-blaming.

In a statement to AFP, Telegram said:

“The sharing of nonconsensual pornography is explicitly forbidden by Telegram’s terms of service and is removed whenever discovered.

Moderators proactively monitor public parts of the platform and accept reports in order to remove millions of pieces of harmful content each day, including nonconsensual pornography.”

The revelations have drawn comparisons to South Korea’s infamous “Nth Room” case, where women were blackmailed into creating sexually explicit content that was then sold on Telegram.

Chinese women have taken to social media platforms like Douyin to share their own experiences of being filmed or photographed without consent.

“What criminals consider ‘regular’ for them may be nightmares that countless women can't escape for the rest of their lives,” one user wrote, describing a personal encounter.

Although pornography is illegal in China and authorities have arrested hundreds for illegal filming in recent years, feminist activism remains a sensitive issue. In one high-profile case, #MeToo activist Sophia Huang Xueqin was sentenced to five years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power” after becoming a prominent voice in the country’s feminist movement.

So far, Chinese authorities have not publicly announced any legal action related to the Telegram groups. However, Guangming Daily has called for serious consequences for those involved.