{ "meta": { "exportedAt": "2026-09-22T14:01:02.590Z", "formatVersion": 2, "selection": { "q": "sexual-images", "system": "", "harm": "", "context": "", "country": "", "role": "", "relation": "core", "evidence": "", "year": "", "response": "", "severity": "", "verification": "", "view": "incidents", "sort": "added" }, "totalIncidents": 3, "coverage": { "cases": 3, "countries": 2, "languages": 2, "unknownLocation": 1, "locationPending": 0, "unknownLanguage": 0, "unknownDate": 0, "lawsuits": 0, "regulatory": 2, "minors": 2, "coreRelations": 3, "contextualRelations": 0, "mixedRelations": 0, "unknownRelations": 0, "relationPending": 0, "relationUnknown": 0 }, "countingNote": "Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.", "affectedCountNote": "Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.", "source": "NOPE Incident Tracker", "url": "https://nope.net/incidents", "license": "CC BY 4.0" }, "incidents": [ { "id": "2025-hku-deepfake-scandal", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'a University of Hong Kong (HKU) law student fabricated pornographic deepfakes of at least 20 women'; 'no allegation so far that the student spread the deepfake images'; 'a friend discovered the images on the student's laptop'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'Around 20 to 30 women... were affected'; 'in February, the student had admitted to using screenshots of the social media accounts... to generate pornographic images using free online artificial intelligence software'; 'there were 700 images involved - including deepfakes as well as unedited images'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'The images were organized into folders named after the victims, totaling 700+ images'; 'discovered on his laptop reported to the university in February'; 'not known to have been widely distributed'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "In February 2025 an HKU law student was found to have used free online AI software to make indecent/deepfake images of some 20 to 30 women (about 700 image files including deepfakes and unedited saved photos), taken from their social-media accounts; there was no allegation he distributed them.", "causal_attribution": "The victims' Instagram account (carried by HKFP and NBC) and AFP reporting (CBS); the 700 figure is images, and outlets vary between 'at least 20' and '20 to 30' women." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'The University has already issued him a warning letter and demanded him a formal apology'; the 60-word apology letter; 'class adjustments'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'HKU proposed a verbal reprimand and warning letter'; the ~60-word apology 'most victims found... insincere'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'The university said it had issued a warning letter to the student and told him to apologise'; lawmakers/advocates' criticism.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "HKU initially issued a warning letter and demanded an apology (about 60 words, shown to victims in April 2025), and made class adjustments; the response drew wide criticism after victims went public on 12 July 2025.", "causal_attribution": "HKU statements and the victims' account, carried by three outlets." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Hong Kong's Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said Tuesday... has begun a criminal investigation into the incident'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'The probe, announced Tuesday by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "Hong Kong's Privacy Commissioner opened a criminal investigation on 15 July 2025.", "causal_attribution": "PCPD announcement, 15 July 2025." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "documented", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'私隱專員公署今日（17 日）宣布，因證據不足未能進一步跟進... 由於未有受害人願意提供進一步資料，目前未有足夠證據提出起訴'; 'AI 深度偽造技術（Deepfake）投訴... 5 宗'; new school/parent guidance.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" } ], "assertion": "On 17 December 2025 the PCPD announced it was ending the investigation for insufficient evidence, as no victim was willing to provide further information, and released anti-deepfake guidance for schools and parents.", "causal_attribution": "unwire.hk report of the PCPD press conference (Privacy Commissioner Ada Chung), 17 December 2025." }, { "id": "c5", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'under section 159AAE of the Crimes Ordinance, it is unlawful to disseminate deepfake intimate images... without their consent'; creation not covered.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'the city's regulations covered acts of voyeurism and the publication or distribution of images - rather than their creation'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "'Hong Kong law only criminalises the distribution of intimate images... but not the generation of them'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Hong Kong law criminalises publication or distribution of non-consensual intimate images (including AI-generated ones) but not their mere creation, leaving victims without a clear route to prosecution.", "causal_attribution": "Legal analysis carried by three outlets and the victims' statement." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "some 20 to 30 women had indecent and deepfake images generated from their social-media photos; distress, shared classes with the accused, and no redress after the probe closed", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ai-generated-porn-scandal-university-of-hong-kong/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 via the Internet Archive capture 20251105074941 (CBS live returns HTTP 406); datePublished 2025-07-15. CBS/AFP: at least 20 women, PCPD criminal probe, legal gap.", "independence_group": "afp" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/hong-kong-opens-criminal-probe-ai-generated-porn-scandal-citys-oldest-rcna219046", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (live, datePublished 2025-07-17). NBC News: 700+ images in victim-named folders, warning letter and 60-word apology, class adjustments, John Lee comment.", "independence_group": "nbc" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://hongkongfp.com/2025/07/14/hku-student-who-allegedly-made-700-ai-generated-indecent-images-inc-of-classmates-gets-warning-letter/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (live, datePublished 2025-07-13, correction 2025-07-14). HKFP: 20-30 women, February discovery, 700 images (deepfakes plus unedited), March disciplinary request, ragging analysis.", "independence_group": "hkfp" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3318047/hong-kong-should-ban-ai-generated-porn-protect-victims-ngo-and-lawmakers", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (live, datePublished 2025-07-13). SCMP: advocates and lawmakers on the creation-vs-distribution legal gap; Education Bureau comment.", "independence_group": "scmp" }, { "id": "s5", "url": "https://unwire.hk/2025/12/17/hku-ai-deepfake-case-privacy-investigation-insufficient-evidence/fun-tech/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "zh", "translation_note": "Read in Chinese on 2026-09-17 (datePublished 2025-12-17). unwire.hk on the PCPD press conference: probe ended for insufficient evidence, no victim willing to provide further information, 20-30 victims, five deepfake complaints that year, new school/parent guidance. Model reading; no human bilingual review.", "independence_group": "unwire" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "education", "privacy", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "The student is not identified beyond 'a male law student' and faced no prosecution; whether HKU took any further disciplinary action is not established.", "The exact number of women is reported as 20 to 30 (NBC: 'more than a dozen'); the precise count is unresolved.", "The creation start date is reported by The Standard as about May 2024 but is not firmly established in the sources read here.", "Whether any victim later came forward with evidence after the December 2025 closure is not established." ], "geography": { "basis": "Event: the University of Hong Kong; victims are HKU-connected women in Hong Kong (CBS, NBC, HKFP, SCMP). The PCPD is a regulator, not a court, and no prosecution followed, so court_countries is empty.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "HK" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "HK" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Restored from the deletion of historical artifact rows and converted to facts-v3 under the 2026-09-15 charter, which brings non-consensual AI imagery and harmful artifacts into scope. Some 20 to 30 women had indecent AI images generated from their photos; the harm and the closed investigation are documented across CBS/AFP, NBC, HKFP, SCMP and unwire.hk. First-publication timestamp preserved.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-17" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "Multiple outlets and the victims' own account report the student used free online AI software to generate indecent/deepfake images from the women's social-media photos; the student admitted using the software (per the victims' account carried by HKFP and NBC). The specific tools are not named.", "status": "supported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "University of Hong Kong: a law student made about 700 indecent AI-generated images of some 20 to 30 classmates and teachers; the privacy watchdog opened then closed a criminal probe", "summary": "In February 2025 a University of Hong Kong (HKU) law student was found, by friends who saw the files on his laptop, to have used free online AI software to make about 700 indecent and deepfake images of some 20 to 30 women, including university and former schoolmates and secondary-school teachers, using photos taken from their social media. Victims went public in July 2025, and HKU's initial response, a warning letter and a demand that he apologise, drew wide criticism. Hong Kong's Privacy Commissioner opened a criminal investigation on 15 July 2025 but announced on 17 December 2025 that it was ending the probe for insufficient evidence, as no victim was willing to provide further information. Hong Kong law criminalised distribution, not creation, of such images.", "incidentDate": "2025-02-01", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "month", "exposurePattern": "unknown", "reportedDate": "2025-07-12", "aiSystem": "AI deepfake / image-generation software (free online tools, not named)", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychological_distress", "reputational_harm", "exploitation_or_abuse" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Some 20 to 30 women had indecent and deepfake images of themselves generated with AI from their social-media photos; victims reported distress and had to share classes with the accused, and the criminal investigation was closed for insufficient evidence, leaving them without redress.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 20, "affectedCountStatus": "documented_minimum", "affectedCountEvidence": "CBS and Hong Kong Free Press report 20 to 30 women affected; NBC reports 'more than a dozen'; the PCPD (December 2025) referred to 20 to 30 victims. Documented minimum of 20; the ~700 figure counts images (deepfakes plus unedited saved photos), not people, and is not used as a person count.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "HK", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://hongkongfp.com/2025/07/14/hku-student-who-allegedly-made-700-ai-generated-indecent-images-inc-of-classmates-gets-warning-letter/", "primarySourceLabel": "Hong Kong Free Press, 13-14 July 2025: HKU student who allegedly made 700 AI-generated indecent images, inc. of classmates, gets warning letter", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-29T09:52:32.902523+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfakes", "hong-kong", "university", "ncii", "sexual-images", "legal-gap", "investigation", "east-asia", "depicted-or-impersonated" ] }, { "id": "2024-south-korea-telegram-deepfake-crisis", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1a", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "BBC 3 Sep 2024 confirms Ko Narin's Hankyoreh scoop and describes the school- and university-specific rooms.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "Hankyoreh English's own exposure of the military Telegram room (27 Aug 2024).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" } ], "assertion": "Around 26 August 2024 The Hankyoreh (Ko Narin) exposed Telegram rooms creating and sharing AI-generated sexual deepfakes of Korean women and girls, with rooms organized by school and university.", "causal_attribution": "The scoop's existence and the rooms' school/university organization are confirmed by the BBC's original reporting and Hankyoreh English's companion investigation; the original Korean article is dead-linked and retained uninspected." }, { "id": "c1b", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Room-structure passages: 'humiliation rooms'/'friend of friend rooms', entry terms, the 2,000-member school group.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "The rooms ran as 'humiliation rooms' and 'friend of friend rooms' with entry terms demanding at least four photos plus name, age and area, and one group for underage pupils at a single school had more than 2,000 members.", "causal_attribution": "Single-chain detail from the BBC's 3 Sep 2024 account; no second inspected chain describes the entry terms or the 2,000-member group." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Police-figure passages: 297 vs 180; 'The victims are often minors and the perpetrators are mostly teenagers'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "Watchdog ~6,500 requests Jan-Jul (4x); 178 suspects booked, 74% aged 10-19; >half of erased deepfakes involved minors.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "Police recorded 297 deepfake cases in January-July 2024 against 180 in all of 2023; the watchdog received nearly 6,500 takedown requests in the first seven months of 2024 (four times the prior year); of 178 suspects booked, 74% were aged 10-19; more than half of erased deepfakes involved minors; victims were often minors and perpetrators mostly teenagers.", "causal_attribution": "Both outlets relay the same police and watchdog accounts; traced to one official origin, so the figures are reported rather than corroborated. Figures count cases, requests and suspects, not harmed people." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'more than 900 students, teachers and staff' (education ministry); 'of 964 deepfake-related sex crime cases reported from January to October last year, police made 23 arrests' (Seoul police statement).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s6" } ], "assertion": "The education ministry counted more than 900 students, teachers and staff victimized between January and early November 2024; a Seoul police statement said that of 964 deepfake-related sex crime cases reported January-October 2024, 23 arrests were made.", "causal_attribution": "Single chain (CNN) relaying official figures; the education-ministry count is the record's person-count lower bound." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Reuters wire via CNN, 26 Sep 2024: possession/viewing criminalized.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" }, { "locator": "CNN 25 Apr 2025: Sep 2024 law — possession/viewing up to 3 years or 30M won; creation maximum raised 5 to 7 years.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s6" } ], "assertion": "On 26 September 2024 the National Assembly criminalized possessing or viewing sexually explicit deepfakes (up to 3 years' prison or a 30 million won fine); the maximum sentence for creating deepfake pornography was raised from 5 to 7 years.", "causal_attribution": "The statute is a public record carried by two chains (Reuters wire; CNN original). The historical claim of an October 2024 amendment removing the distribution-intent requirement was not re-verified and is recorded as an unknown." }, { "id": "c5", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Military IDs turned into deepfake porn': servicewomen called 'military supplies'; at least 30 victims; channel active since 8 Aug with ~850 audience.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" } ], "assertion": "A separate Telegram room degraded servicewomen with deepfakes made from military-intranet ID photos, implying insider involvement, with at least 30 victims across the Army, Navy and Air Force and an audience of about 850 since 8 August 2024.", "causal_attribution": "Single chain (Hankyoreh original reporting)." }, { "id": "c6", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Heejin passages (pseudonymous victim account).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "Ruma passages (pseudonymous victim account).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s6" } ], "assertion": "Individual victims described severe harm: a pseudonymous school victim 'Heejin' spoke to the BBC, and 'Ruma', targeted in 2021 at age 27, spoke to CNN.", "causal_attribution": "Pseudonymous first-person accounts carried by two outlets; the historical record's 'broke my whole belief system' quotation was not re-found in inspected sources and is dropped from the claims." }, { "id": "c7", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Korea Herald 16 Nov 2025 relaying the National Office of Investigation figures.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s7" } ], "assertion": "By November 2025 the National Office of Investigation reported 3,557 people apprehended for cybersexual violence over the preceding year, with deepfake crimes the largest category (1,553 cases) and about 62% of suspects teenagers.", "causal_attribution": "Single chain relaying official figures; apprehension figures count suspects, not victims." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "mass AI-generated sexual deepfakes of identified women and girls distributed in Telegram rooms", "claim_id": "c1a", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpdlpj9zn9go", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (3 Sep 2024; Jean Mackenzie, Seoul). Original reporting: victim 'Heejin', room structure, the 2,000-member school group, the 500+ activist-compiled school list.", "independence_group": "bbc" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4yerrg451o", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (28 Aug 2024). Yoon cabinet order; police figures attributed.", "independence_group": "bbc" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1155588.html", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (27 Aug 2024). Hankyoreh's own exposure of the military room.", "independence_group": "hankyoreh" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://www.npr.org/2024/09/06/nx-s1-5101891/south-korea-deepfake", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (6 Sep 2024). Watchdog and police figures attributed.", "independence_group": "npr" }, { "id": "s5", "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/26/asia/south-korea-deepfake-bill-passed-intl-hnk", "kind": "wire_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (26 Sep 2024); bylined Reuters.", "independence_group": "reuters" }, { "id": "s6", "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/asia/south-korea-deepfake-crimes-intl-hnk-dst", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (25 Apr 2025). CNN original: victim 'Ruma', education-ministry figure, Seoul police statement.", "independence_group": "cnn" }, { "id": "s7", "url": "https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10616925", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (16 Nov 2025; the historical date 2025-11-01 was wrong). National Office of Investigation figures.", "independence_group": "korea-herald" }, { "id": "s8", "url": "https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/1155800.html", "kind": "news_report", "access": "unavailable", "language": null, "translation_note": "HTTP 404 on 2026-09-15. Ko Narin's original Korean investigation (~26 Aug 2024); retained as the historical reference. BBC's 3 Sep 2024 report confirms the scoop; the body was not inspected in this review and its language is not re-asserted.", "independence_group": "hankyoreh" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "education", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "Not re-verified in inspected sources and therefore not claims of this record: the 220,000-member channel figure; 781 victims with 37% minors; Women's Human Rights Institute of Korea 332,341 supported cases; the October 2024 amendment removing the distribution-intent requirement; the Seoul National University graduates' 9-year and 3.5-year sentences; the teachers' union 200-school estimate; the 'broke my whole belief system' victim quotation.", "The specific AI tools used are not identified in the inspected reporting.", "Ko Narin's original Korean article (hani.co.kr 1155800) is HTTP 404; its contents are known only through the BBC's confirmation and the historical record.", "The ScienceDirect study cited by the historical record answered 403 and was not inspected.", "Cross-group overlap between police case counts, the education-ministry victim count and watchdog requests is unresolved." ], "geography": { "basis": "Events, victims and the responding institutions are all in South Korea (all chains). No court proceeding is verified in this review, so court_countries is [].", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "KR" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "KR" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact crisis affecting identified women and girls, predominantly minors. The person count is the education ministry's documented lower bound; case, request and membership figures are recorded but never used as person counts. Unverifiable historical claims are preserved as unknowns rather than deleted silently. No death; the death-verification rule is not engaged. Pseudonymous victims remain pseudonymous. In a 2026-09-15 second pass the original compound first claim was split: the corroborated exposure and room organization stand as c1a, and the BBC-only structure details (entry terms, 2,000-member group) stand as reported c1b. person_relations recorded in the same pass.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "Every inspected chain describes AI deepfake tools as the generation mechanism and Telegram as the distribution channel; police and watchdog figures classify the cases as deepfake sex crimes. The specific tools are not individually identified beyond 'AI deepfake/nudify tools'.", "status": "supported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "South Korea Telegram AI Deepfake Sexual Abuse Crisis", "summary": "In late August 2024, journalist Ko Narin of The Hankyoreh exposed networks of Telegram rooms in South Korea where AI tools were used to turn ordinary photos of women and girls — middle and high school pupils, university students, teachers and servicewomen — into sexual deepfakes, shared with their identities in school- and university-specific 'humiliation rooms'. Police figures showed 297 deepfake cases in January-July 2024 (vs 180 in all of 2023); the education ministry counted more than 900 victimized students, teachers and staff; President Yoon ordered a crackdown; and on 26 September 2024 the National Assembly criminalized possessing or viewing sexually explicit deepfakes. Victims were often minors and perpetrators mostly teenagers.", "incidentDate": "2024-08-01", "incidentEndDate": "2024-09-26", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2024-08-26", "aiSystem": "AI deepfake generation tools (various)", "aiCompany": "Multiple (various free AI 'undressing' tools)", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "minor_exploitation", "third_party_harm_facilitation", "psychological_manipulation" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychological_distress", "reputational_harm" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Mass non-consensual AI sexual imagery of schoolgirls, students, teachers and servicewomen, distributed with their identities in Telegram rooms; pseudonymous victims describe severe distress, and police recorded hundreds of cases dominated by minor victims and teenage perpetrators.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 900, "affectedCountStatus": "documented_minimum", "affectedCountEvidence": "Lower bound: the South Korean education ministry's count of 'more than 900 students, teachers and staff' victimized (January-early November 2024), carried by CNN's 25 April 2025 report. This counts people reported as victims to the education authorities. Police figures (297 cases; 964 cases) count cases, not people, and are not used as person counts; the watchdog's ~6,500 figures count takedown requests, not people; the 500+ schools figure is an activist-compiled list of targets, not a victim count; channel membership numbers are not counted. Cross-group overlap is unresolved.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "KR", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "criminal_charges", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpdlpj9zn9go", "primarySourceLabel": "BBC News, Jean Mackenzie (3 Sep 2024) — 'Inside the deepfake porn crisis engulfing Korean schools' (replaces the dead Hankyoreh original)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-29T09:52:18.956616+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfakes", "minor", "south-korea", "telegram", "sexual-images", "school", "criminal-charges", "legislation", "mass-scale", "non-western" ] }, { "id": "2025-grok-non-consensual-image-generation", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers'; the standalone app/X tab complied with undress requests including NBC's consenting test subject.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "AP: Grok let users 'undress people, putting females in transparent bikinis or revealing clothing'; some images appeared to include children.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s7" }, { "locator": "'Over the past several weeks, Grok allowed users to create and publicly post sexually altered images of real people at the click of a button.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s8" } ], "assertion": "From late December 2025, Grok's image generation and editing on X and the standalone app let users generate sexualized images of real people at scale; xAI limited generation to paying subscribers on 9 January 2026, but NBC's own consenting test found the standalone app and X tab still complied with 'undress' requests.", "causal_attribution": "The conduct is established by NBC's direct test plus official accounts; the paywall change's limited effect is NBC's finding." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Genevieve Oh's analysis: 7,751 sexualized images in one hour Wednesday, up 16.4% from 6,659/hr Monday.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "NYT via NC DOJ: 'generated and posted 4.4 million images, of which at least 41 percent were sexualized images of women' over nine days.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s8" }, { "locator": "CCDH via Engadget: 'an estimated 3 million sexualized images over 11 days, including 23,000 of minors'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s9" } ], "assertion": "Scale analyses: Genevieve Oh's analysis found 7,751 sexualized images generated in one hour on a Wednesday (up 16.4% from 6,659/hour on Monday); the New York Times reported 4.4 million images over nine days, at least 41% sexualized images of women; an AP analysis of 20,000 images from 25 December-1 January found 2% appeared to be 18 or younger; CCDH estimated about 3 million sexualized images over 11 days including roughly 23,000 of minors.", "causal_attribution": "Each figure belongs to its own analysis (Oh; NYT; AP via Fortune; CCDH); none is platform-confirmed and they are not merged. The AP 20,000-image analysis is carried via Fortune. The Bloomberg ~6,700/hour, 84-85x figure is recorded as unavailable." }, { "id": "c3a", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'I felt horrified, I felt violated, especially seeing my toddler's backpack in the back of it'; image of her at 14 undressed, up ~12 hrs, removed after the Guardian sought comment.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" } ], "assertion": "Ashley St. Clair said users sexualized images of her, including one of her at 14 that stayed up about 12 hours and was removed after the Guardian sought comment: 'I felt horrified, I felt violated.'", "causal_attribution": "Her account to the Guardian; her own lawsuit is a separate held row and is not merged here." }, { "id": "c3b", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'dehumanised and reduced into a sexual stereotype'; 'others asked Grok to generate more of her'; 'While it wasn't me that was in states of undress, it looked like me and it felt like me and it felt as violating.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Samantha Smith told the BBC she felt 'dehumanised and reduced into a sexual stereotype', and after she posted about it, others asked Grok to generate more of her.", "causal_attribution": "Her account to the BBC." }, { "id": "c3c", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'had seen an increase in people using Grok to undress her'; the 'sticking plaster' quote.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "Dr Daisy Dixon, a Cardiff University lecturer, told the BBC she had seen an increase in people using Grok to undress her and called the paywall change 'a sticking plaster'.", "causal_attribution": "Her account to the BBC." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "IWF analysts found 'criminal imagery' of girls aged 11-13 apparently made with Grok.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "AI Forensics' review: ~800 archived URLs, <10% apparent CSAM ('photorealistic people, very young'), ~70 URLs reported to EU regulators.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" } ], "assertion": "The Internet Watch Foundation told the BBC its analysts found 'criminal imagery' of girls aged 11-13 apparently made with Grok; Wired and AI Forensics reviewed about 800 archived Grok Imagine URLs with under 10% apparent CSAM and reported about 70 URLs to EU regulators.", "causal_attribution": "Two independent expert bodies' findings (IWF; AI Forensics); the minors are unnamed and uncounted per the counting rules." }, { "id": "c5", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "NBC: Ofcom 'urgent contact'; Starmer 'disgraceful... X has got to get a grip'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "ICO announcement: formal investigations into XIUC and X.AI; follows the 7 January contact.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s6" }, { "locator": "AP via PBS: the EU's formal DSA investigation; 'materialized' risks; 'serious harm'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s7" }, { "locator": "NC DOJ release: the 35-AG letter and its demands.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s8" }, { "locator": "Engadget: the Baltimore suit; City Solicitor Thompson's statement.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s9" }, { "locator": "TechPolicy.Press: the Amsterdam order of 26 March.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s13" }, { "locator": "Reuters headline (body unavailable): Ireland DPC inquiry of 17 February.", "relation": "context", "source_id": "s11" } ], "assertion": "Formal regulatory and legal actions followed: Ofcom's urgent contact (5 Jan; response by 9 Jan; investigation announced 12 Jan); the UK ICO's formal investigations into XIUC and X.AI LLC (3 Feb); the European Commission's formal DSA investigation (26 Jan, risks 'materialized' into 'serious harm'); Ireland's DPC GDPR inquiry (17 Feb); 35 US state attorneys general's demand letter (23 Jan); Baltimore's consumer-protection suit (24 Mar; D. Md. 1:26-cv-02103); and an Amsterdam court order to stop generating or distributing non-consensual sexualized images in the Netherlands (26 Mar, Offlimits suit, penalty up to €10 million).", "causal_attribution": "Each action is carried by an inspected official or news source; the California AG probe (NBC) and the Indonesia/Malaysia/Philippines blocks (Reuters bodies unavailable) are recorded in the outcome and reported in the narrative." }, { "id": "c6", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "AP: the X statement of 14 January ('bikinis, underwear or other revealing attire', where illegal).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s7" }, { "locator": "BBC (16 Mar): Musk's 'Literally zero' post of 14 January.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s10" } ], "assertion": "xAI's 14 January statement said it would stop allowing users to depict people in 'bikinis, underwear or other revealing attire' where illegal; Musk posted on 14 January that he was 'not aware of any naked underage images... Literally zero'.", "causal_attribution": "The company's and Musk's statements are recorded as their positions; the IWF and AI Forensics findings stand in tension with 'Literally zero' and are preserved as contrary evidence." }, { "id": "c7", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "BBC (20 Apr 2026): the 3 Feb raid, the summons, Musk's non-appearance, the DOJ refusal, and the probe's scope.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s10" } ], "assertion": "Paris police raided X's offices on 3 February and summoned Musk and Yaccarino for 20 April; Musk did not appear, and the US DOJ declined to assist France; the French probe includes complicity in possession or organised distribution of child sexual abuse material.", "causal_attribution": "Single inspected chain (BBC); attributed accordingly." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "industrial-scale non-consensual sexualized imagery of real people, including apparent minors, generated by Grok", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98p1r4e6m8o", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (2 Jan 2026). Samantha Smith's account.", "independence_group": "bbc" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/x-paywall-ai-image-grok-app-bikini-allows-sexual-deepfakes-rcna252647", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (8 Jan 2026). Paywall change; NBC's own consenting test; Genevieve Oh's analysis; Starmer and Ofcom accounts.", "independence_group": "nbc" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/05/elon-musk-ashley-st-clair-grok-fake-sexualised-images", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (5 Jan 2026). Ashley St. Clair's account.", "independence_group": "guardian" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99kn52nx9do", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (9 Jan 2026, McMahon/Cress). Dr Daisy Dixon; the IWF finding.", "independence_group": "bbc" }, { "id": "s5", "url": "https://www.wired.com/story/grok-is-generating-sexual-content-far-more-graphic-than-whats-on-x/", "kind": "news_investigation", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (7 Jan 2026, Burgess/Varner). AI Forensics' review of ~800 archived Grok Imagine URLs.", "independence_group": "wired" }, { "id": "s6", "url": "https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2026/02/ico-announces-investigation-into-grok/", "kind": "regulator_announcement", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (formal investigations into XIUC and X.AI LLC; follows the 7 January urgent-information contact).", "independence_group": "ico" }, { "id": "s7", "url": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/eu-investigates-musks-ai-chatbot-grok-over-sexual-deepfakes", "kind": "wire_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (AP, Kelvin Chan; 26 Jan 2026). EU DSA investigation; X's 14 January statement.", "independence_group": "ap" }, { "id": "s8", "url": "https://ncdoj.gov/attorney-general-jeff-jackson-leads-bipartisan-coalition-demanding-xai-stop-creating-and-remove-groks-nonconsensual-sexual-images/", "kind": "regulator_press_release", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (23 Jan 2026). The 35-AG letter; quotes the New York Times' 4.4M/41% figure.", "independence_group": "nc-doj" }, { "id": "s9", "url": "https://www.engadget.com/ai/baltimore-sues-xai-over-grok-deepfakes-214135922.html", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (24 Mar 2026). Baltimore suit; the CCDH estimate.", "independence_group": "engadget" }, { "id": "s10", "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crk151nn7j3o", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (20 Apr 2026). Paris raid; Musk's non-appearance; DOJ refusal to assist France.", "independence_group": "bbc" }, { "id": "s11", "url": "https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/ireland-opens-probe-into-musks-grok-ai-over-sexualised-images-2026-02-17/", "kind": "wire_report", "access": "unavailable", "language": null, "translation_note": "HTTP 401 on 2026-09-15; headline and date verified from the URL and snapshot; body not read.", "independence_group": "reuters" }, { "id": "s12", "url": "https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-07/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "unavailable", "language": null, "translation_note": "HTTP 403 on 2026-09-15; the ~6,700/hour, 84-85x analysis is attributed from the historical record and secondary references; body not read.", "independence_group": "bloomberg" }, { "id": "s13", "url": "https://www.techpolicy.press/dutch-court-orders-x-grok-to-stop-aigenerated-sexual-abuse-content/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (27 Mar 2026). Amsterdam court order in the Offlimits case.", "independence_group": "techpolicy-press" }, { "id": "s14", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/ashley-st-clair-sues-xai-grok-sexual-images-rcna254302", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read on 2026-09-15 (15 Jan 2026). St. Clair's suit; cross-reference to the related held row.", "independence_group": "nbc" }, { "id": "s15", "url": "https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/64870891/MAYOR_AND_CITY_COUNCIL_OF_BALTIMORE_v_X_Corp_et_al", "kind": "court_docket", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Docket page read on 2026-09-15 (D. Md. 1:26-cv-02103; SpaceX dismissed without prejudice 17 Jul; MTD briefing under way as of 29 Jul).", "independence_group": "court-record" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "everyday_life", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "The Bloomberg analysis (~6,700 images/hour, 84-85x leading deepfake sites) could not be read (403) and is recorded without its body.", "Whether the images remain hosted and downloadable (Wired's June 2026 follow-up, cited but not read) is unverified.", "The N.D. Cal. class action's pseudonymity ruling of 30 July is known only through a blocked summary (internetcases 403).", "The outcome of the Amsterdam order's penalty mechanism and xAI's compliance are not reported in the inspected sources.", "The Indonesia/Malaysia/Philippines blocks and lifts are recorded from the historical record and headlines (Reuters/CNN bodies unavailable); dates may shift one day across carriers.", "The historical claim of 'five countries acting within two weeks' is not precisely verified and is not claimed." ], "geography": { "basis": "The generation and consumption were global and not tied to an inspected event location, so event and affected-person countries remain unknown rather than inferred from regulators or the company's seats. Court countries are limited to the documented proceedings: the US (Baltimore D. Md. suit; the related US suits) and the NL (Amsterdam court order). Regulatory actions by Ofcom, the ICO, the EU, the DPC, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are not courts.", "court_countries": [ "US", "NL" ], "event_countries": [], "affected_person_countries": [] }, "publication": { "basis": "Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact crisis (depicted_or_impersonated). Named victims are adults who spoke publicly; minors are never named and never counted from image statistics. Each scale figure is attributed to its own analysis; the victims' accounts are single-chain and recorded as reported. Related xAI suits (St. Clair, Tennessee minors, others) are separate held rows and are not merged.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "NBC's own consenting test confirmed the standalone Grok app and X tab complied with 'undress' requests after the 9 January paywall change; the victims' accounts, the IWF and AI Forensics reviews, and xAI's own 14 January restriction all establish the AI generation. The scale figures are attributed analyses, not platform-confirmed numbers.", "status": "supported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Grok non-consensual sexual image generation wave (December 2025 - January 2026)", "summary": "From late December 2025, xAI's Grok image editing on X let users generate sexualized images of real people at industrial scale, including images of named women and apparent minors. Analyses attributed to Genevieve Oh (7,751 sexualized images in one hour, via NBC), the New York Times (4.4 million images in nine days, at least 41% sexualized images of women, via the NC AG), the AP (2% of a 20,000-image sample appearing to be minors, via Fortune) and CCDH (about 3 million sexualized images over 11 days including roughly 23,000 of minors, via Engadget) documented the scale. Named women — Ashley St. Clair, Samantha Smith and Dr Daisy Dixon — described being undressed by Grok and revictimized when they objected. The wave triggered formal actions by Ofcom, the UK ICO, the EU (DSA), Ireland's DPC, 35 US state attorneys general, the California AG, Baltimore (consumer-protection suit), an Amsterdam court order, country blocks in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, and a Paris police raid; xAI restricted generation to paying subscribers on 9 January and narrowed the feature on 14 January 2026.", "incidentDate": "2025-12-25", "incidentEndDate": "2026-01-14", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2026-01-02", "aiSystem": "Grok (image generation and editing on X and the standalone app)", "aiCompany": "SpaceXAI (formerly xAI)", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "verified", "harmCategories": [ "minor_exploitation", "third_party_harm_facilitation", "barrier_erosion" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychological_distress", "reputational_harm" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Mass non-consensual sexualized imagery of real people — including apparent minors — generated at industrial scale and amplified when victims objected, with named women describing violation and dehumanization and regulators on three continents opening formal actions.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "established", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 3, "affectedCountStatus": "partial", "affectedCountEvidence": "Three counted depicted persons: Ashley St. Clair (Guardian), Samantha Smith (BBC) and Dr Daisy Dixon (BBC), each named and speaking publicly. Further victims — including the minors in the IWF's apparent criminal imagery (girls 11-13) and the people in the analysis samples — are unquantified: hourly image rates, the 20,000-image sample and the CCDH estimate count images, not people, and are never converted.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "XX", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "regulatory_action", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98p1r4e6m8o", "primarySourceLabel": "BBC (2 Jan 2026) — Samantha Smith's account of being undressed by Grok and revictimized when she objected", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-11T12:19:47.670189+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "grok", "xai", "csam", "deepfakes", "minor", "sexual-images", "industrial-scale", "multi-country", "eu-dsa", "class-action", "35-state-ag", "depicted-or-impersonated" ] } ] }