Hundreds of horrific images of children appeared on Meta platforms – SFGATE

Morning traffic passes the headquarters of Meta, the corporate offices of Facebook and Instagram, in Menlo Park, Calif., on Oct. 29, 2025. MattGush/Getty Images Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of sexual violence against children. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673 in the U.S. Hundreds of paid advertisements containing disturbing images of children engaging in sex acts appeared on Meta platforms this year, a lengthy new report from a tech industry watchdog says.  Article continues below this ad According to a Sept. 8 report from the Tech Transparency Project, researchers found more than 300 ads containing child sexual abuse material on Facebook and Instagram this year. Most of the children depicted in the ads were digitally altered with artificial intelligence tools to make them appear as though they were engaging in sex acts, the report said, and the ads sometimes contained animations of real children. Researchers identified a child in a European royal family, as well as a 14-year-old influencer, and discovered that most of these ads promoted Chinese apps capable of “nudifying” subjects.   Out of 332 ads on Meta containing explicit images of children, 298 promoted image- and video-editing
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