Meta ran dozens of paid advertisements containing AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and images of minors in sexually suggestive contexts over a nine-month period, according to the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), an independent watchdog group.
Researchers discovered more than 50 image and video ads with abusive content in Meta’s ad library, the company’s transparency tool that catalogs ads on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Threads. The ads targeted users in the United States, United Kingdom, and more than a dozen European countries. Some ads linked to “nudify” or undressing apps that generate fake nude imagery.
According to TTP director Katie Paul, the ads made little effort to conceal their content. “These are ads that were reviewed, approved, and allowed to run by Meta, never encountering interference while the company collected the ad dollars,” Paul told WIRED. One video ad used a thumbnail of a child with text saying “Realizing Deep Fantasies with Generation AI,” and when clicked, played video clips of adults in sexual acts with the child’s face digitally added. Another showed a young girl in a sexual position with text stating “I can show you more.”
The ads were published between November and early August and have since been removed by Meta for violating policies on child sexual abuse material and adult sexual content. While many had minimal reach, at least one ad reached 2,563 accounts across Europe, including France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Meta’s ad library does not include complete reach data for the US and all countries.
The TTP reported the findings to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline. After WIRED contacted Meta, the company removed the ads. A Meta spokesperson stated the company “works aggressively” to keep exploitation off its platform and noted that some ads were disabled before WIRED shared them. The company also cited new AI technology designed to detect and block violating ads at upload.
However, researchers discovered approximately 30 additional offending ads hours before publication, with multiple ads still live and reaching accounts at the time of discovery. These later-discovered ads were among the most egregious, according to Paul.
This marks the second recent incident of CSAM-related ads on Meta platforms. In early July, a BBC investigation found Instagram running ads promoting child sexual abuse material in India, with ads using terminology like “rape video” and linking to Telegram channels.
The TTP researchers noted that some identical ads appeared to have been previously removed by Meta, raising questions about the company’s approach. Most ads came from accounts with zero or few followers, with some linked to Chinese companies. Several ads promoted an app called MaskAI, which Apple removed from its App Store after being contacted by WIRED for violating policies.
Key facts
- Meta ran over 50 ads containing AI-generated CSAM between November and August, discovered by the Tech Transparency Project
- At least one ad reached 2,563 accounts across eight European countries
- Ads were approved and ran on Meta’s platforms before being removed
- This is the second major incident of CSAM-related ads on Meta in recent weeks
- Some identical ads that Meta had previously removed reappeared in the system