{
  "id": 305440,
  "title": "Rising number of UK children report seeing explicit deepfakes of themselves",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/rising-number-of-uk-children-report-seeing-explicit-deepfakes-of",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-08T07:00:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Technology",
    "slug": "guardian-technology",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/08/uk-children-explicit-deepfake-images-ai"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the UK, an increasing number of children are reporting explicit deepfakes of themselves, according to a safety watchdog. The Report Remove service, which removes intimate images from the internet, has seen a surge in reports from young individuals. In the first half of 2025, the service received 420 complaints from children about manipulated images, surpassing its annual target for the year. Dan Sexton, chief technology officer at the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), explained that AI tools have made it easier to create such content, posing a significant challenge in preventing online manipulation of children's images. Sexton emphasized that the only way to stop such abuse is to prevent children from having their pictures taken or sharing them online. The IWF has added a checkbox to its reporting form to allow under-18s to flag manipulated images, acknowledging the potential for AI to worsen this issue. The majority of the reported manipulated images in 2025 and 2026 were deemed severe enough to qualify as child sexual abuse material (CSAM), making such activities illegal in the UK. Online safety experts at the NSPCC stressed the need for tech companies to implement stronger safety measures in their AI products to prevent the creation and distribution of explicit material. Sextortion, where perpetrators threaten to publish manipulated images unless victims comply with demands, has also become a concern for those who have reported these incidents. The National Crime Agency and IWF have advised parents and guardians to limit the public display of children's images on social media and encourage the use of private accounts or close-knit groups to share pictures. The rise in AI-enabled deepfakes has prompted warnings for parents to keep their children's pictures away from online platforms, following instances where cybercriminals used AI to create CSAM and threatened to publish the images. Schools have been urged to remove identifiable pictures of pupils from their websites and social media accounts to mitigate the risk of misuse.",
  "summary": "Exclusive: anonymous flagging service says cases have surged, as watchdog says AI is making sexualised or ‘nudified’ content easier to produce Children in the UK have reported a surge in explicit deepfake images featuring their likenesses, as a safety watchdog warned AI is making such content easier to produce. The Report Remove service, which blocks intimate images from appearing online, said…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}