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X users generating sexual images of children as young as 13, says AI watchdog
X users are generating sexual images of children as young as 13, an AI watchdog has said.
Elon Musk's platform's AI bot, Grok, has been used to make sexualised fake images, including explicit non-consensual depictions of women and children with their clothes removed.
Paul Bouchard, a researcher at non-profit organisation AI Forensics, analysed 20,000 images generated by Grok between 25 December 2025 and 1 January 2026.
Salvatore Romano, head of research and co-founder of the watchdog, told The Independent, of these images, "at least 2 per cent were to some degree related to people that were appearing to be younger than 18 years old... even 13.
"We think that if this trend is not stopped, it could escalate."
An X spokesperson said: "We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.
“Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content."
The Grok account is now replying to requests for images with a message indicating that it is only available to some users. “Image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers,” the message reads, and it gives users a link to sign up for the premium version of X.
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