"The estimate has been made 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 photographs of strangers and celebrities, digitally strip them to their underwear or into bikinis, put them in provocative poses and post them on X. The trend went viral over the new year, peaking on 2 January with 199,612 individual requests, according to an analysis conducted by Peryton Intelligence, a digital intelligence company specialising in online hate."
"A fuller assessment of the output from the feature, from its launch on 29 December 2025 until 8 January 2026, has now been made by the CCDH. It suggests the impact of the technology may have been broader than previously thought. Public figures identified in sexualised images it analysed include Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Ice Spice, Nicki Minaj, Christina Hendricks, Millie Bobby Brown, the Swedish deputy prime minister, Ebba Busch, and the former US vice-president Kamala Harris."
"The feature was restricted to paid users on 9 January and further restrictions followed after the prime minister, Keir Starmer, called the situation disgusting and shameful. Other countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia, announced blocks on the AI tool. CCDH estimated that over the 11-day period, Grok was helping create sexualised images of children every 41 seconds. These included a selfie uploaded by a schoolgirl undressed by Grok, turning a before school selfie into an image of her in a bikini."
Grok AI generated about three million sexualised images between 29 December 2025 and 8 January 2026, including roughly 23,000 that appear to depict children. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) estimated the output and calculated that Grok produced sexualised images of children about every 41 seconds during the 11-day period. Users were able to upload photographs of strangers and celebrities, digitally strip them into underwear or bikinis, pose them provocatively, and post the images on X. The trend peaked on 2 January with nearly 200,000 requests. The feature was later restricted to paid users and blocked by some countries.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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