● Covered by 4 sources · 4 reportsHigh impact4 negative
Meta Platforms Ran Over 50 Ads Featuring AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material
Key points
- Over 50 ads with AI-generated CSAM ran on Meta platforms.
- Ads were active for nine months, from November 2025 to August 2026.
- Targeted users in the US, UK, and European countries.
- Discovered by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP).
- Some ads linked to "nudify" or undressing apps.
- Apple removed the AI app Kromix from its App Store.
- The app Kromix generated pornographic deepfakes.
- One ad featured a woman resembling a prominent US politician.
- Apple stated Kromix added prohibited features after initial review.
- Kromix advertised itself as having "no restrictions" and "all the characters are real people."
- Kromix invited paid users to upload photos for scenarios like "bedroom rape" and "Disney love."
Discovery of Prohibited Content
Researchers from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) identified more than 50 paid advertisements containing AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and sexually suggestive images of minors on Meta's platforms. These ads were found in Meta's ad library, a transparency tool that catalogs ads displayed across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Threads.
Ad Distribution and Duration
The ads were active for a nine-month period, specifically between November 2025 and August 2026. They reportedly reached thousands of accounts and were targeted at users in the United States, the United Kingdom, and over a dozen European countries. Some of these ads also included links to "nudify" or undressing applications.
Policy Violations and Moderation Failure
The presence of these ads indicates a failure in Meta's ad review process, despite the company's policies prohibiting such content and its use of automated detection tools. TTP Director Katie Paul noted that the ads made no effort to mask the images or hide what they were promoting. This is the second instance in recent weeks where paid ads linked to child sexual abuse material have been found on Meta's platforms.
Updates
- Kromix advertised itself as having "no restrictions" and "all the characters are real people."
- Kromix invited paid users to upload photos for scenarios like "bedroom rape" and "Disney love."
- Apple removed the AI app Kromix from its App Store.
- The app Kromix generated pornographic deepfakes.
- One ad featured a woman resembling a prominent US politician.
- Apple stated Kromix added prohibited features after initial review.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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How outlets covered it
Meta platforms displayed advertisements for an AI porn-generation tool called Kromix that appeared to encourage users to create deepfaked videos resembling female US politicians. This incident highlights Meta's ongoing difficulty in preventing ads for nonconsensual intimate imagery tools from appearing on its platforms, despite company policies.
Apple removed the AI app Kromix from its App Store after a WIRED report highlighted that Meta ran ads for the app, which generated pornographic deepfakes. Apple stated the app added prohibited features after its initial review, and Meta subsequently took down the ad campaign.
Meta ran dozens of paid advertisements containing AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and sexually suggestive images of minors over a nine-month period. These ads, discovered by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), were approved by Meta and reached audiences in the US, UK, and over a dozen European countries, highlighting a significant failure in content moderation and ad review processes.
Researchers identified over 50 ads featuring AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) that ran across Meta's platforms, including Facebook, Threads, Messenger, and Instagram. This incident highlights a failure in Meta's ad review process, despite the company's policies prohibiting such content and its use of automated detection tools.