More than 50 advertisements featuring child pornography generated by artificial intelligence were reportedly displayed on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Threads. These paid ads were published between November 2025 and early August 2026, with some still active at the time of discovery. They targeted internet users in the United States, the United Kingdom, and more than a dozen European countries.
Several campaigns promoted apps capable of altering photographs, artificially undressing people, or inserting their faces into pornographic content. At least one ad reportedly reached 2,563 accounts in Europe, but the total reach could be higher, as data is incomplete for some regions. This case is causing serious concern because Meta's ads are normally reviewed before being displayed, primarily using automated tools.
Meta's moderation systems called into question
Meta removed the ads after they were flagged, acknowledging that they violated its rules on child sexual exploitation, nudity, and sexual solicitation. The company says it is actively working to prevent the spread of such content and removed more than 36 million posts related to child sexual exploitation in the previous year. It also claims to have deployed new artificial intelligence systems to detect prohibited ads as soon as they are uploaded.
The effectiveness of these measures remains contested, however, as some identical ads have reportedly reappeared after having already been removed. Several ads linked to the MaskAI app, which was withdrawn from the App Store after the discovery of features that allowed users to create artificial sexual content. This case illustrates the ability of malicious networks to multiply accounts, domains, and advertisers to circumvent controls, while also highlighting the need for increased human oversight of ads displayed on major platforms.
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