According to the researchers, the Grok AI generated approximately 3 million sexually explicit images in less than two weeks, of which 23,000 images appeared to depict children, with the researchers saying it “has become an industrial-scale machine for the production of sexually exploitative material”.
guess It was created by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) after Elon Musk’s AI image generation tool sparked international outrage when it allowed users to upload photos of strangers and celebrities, digitally strip them down to underwear or bikinis, put them in provocative poses and post the images on
The trend went viral in the new year, peaking on January 2 with 199,612 individual requests, according to analysis by Peryton Intelligence, a digital intelligence company specializing in online hate.
A full assessment of the feature’s output from its launch on 29 December 2025 to 8 January 2026 has now been conducted by CCDH. This suggests that the impact of technology may be more widespread than previously thought. Public figures identified in the sexually explicit images in its analysis include Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Ice Spice, Nicki Minaj, Christina Hendricks, Millie Bobby Brown, Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Bush, and former US Vice President Kamala Harris.
The feature was restricted to paying users on January 9 and further restrictions were imposed after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the situation “disgusting” and “shameful”. Other countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia, announced bans on AI tools.
The CCDH estimated that over an 11-day period, Grok was making sexual images of children every 41 seconds. These included a selfie uploaded by a schoolgirl posing naked by Grok, which replaced the “before school selfie” with an image of her in a bikini.
CCDH chief executive Imran Ahmed said, “What we found was clear and disturbing: over that period Grok had become an industrial-scale machine for the production of sexual exploitation material.” “Disrobing a woman without her permission is sexual exploitation. During that period Elon was promoting the product even when it was obvious to the world that it was being used that way. What Elon was driving was controversy, eyeballs, engagement, and users. It was very disturbing.”
He added: “This has become a standard playbook for Silicon Valley, and especially for social media and AI platforms. All the incentives are misaligned. They benefit from this outrage. This is not about Musk personally. This is about a system (that) has perverse incentives and no minimum safeguards set out in law. And until regulators and lawmakers do their job and create a minimum expectation of safeguards, this will continue to happen.”
एक्स ने घोषणा की कि उसने 14 जनवरी को अपने ग्रोक फीचर को वास्तविक लोगों की तस्वीरों को संपादित करने से रोक दिया है ताकि उन्हें प्रीमियम ग्राहकों के लिए आकर्षक कपड़ों में दिखाया जा सके।
X referred to his statement from last week, which Said: “We are committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and will continue to have zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity and any form of unwanted sexual content.
“We take action to remove high-priority infringing content, including child sexual exploitation material and non-consensual nudity, while taking appropriate action against accounts that violate our X Rules. We also report accounts soliciting child sexual exploitation material to law enforcement authorities as necessary.”
