Grok AI generated millions of sexualized images of minors and adults without consent
Between late December 2025 and early January 2026, Grok generated approximately 3 million sexualized images, including around 23,000 depicting minors, according to research by the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Many images were created from existing photos without consent, particularly of public figures. The system reportedly lacked effective filters to prevent such generation, and the EU launched an investigation.
What happened
Between 29 December 2025 and 8 January 2026, the Grok image generation system generated approximately 3 million sexualized images of adults and children, according to a study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).
The CCDH estimated that approximately 23,000 of the generated images depicted minors, with about one generated every 41 seconds. According to the New York Times analysis, approximately 1.8 million of the images depicted women. Many images were created from existing photos on X, particularly of public figures including singers, actors and politicians.
Reported impact
The CCDH stated that Grok became an industrial-scale machine for producing sexual abuse material during this period. The CEO of CCDH declared that removing images of women without their permission constitutes sexual abuse. As of 15 January, 29% of the sexualized images of children remained online.
Index analysis
The study does not identify whether the images were created without the consent of the people depicted. However, the absence of filters blocking generation is evident. X introduced some restrictions on Grok functionality, but these did not apply to the web and mobile versions of the chatbot.
Governance controls
Over 4.6 million AI images were published on the X platform during the 11-day period, with approximately 3 million being sexualized images of adults and children (approximately 190 per minute).
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.