Grok used to generate non-consensual sexual abuse images in Ireland
X's AI tool Grok was used to generate thousands of non-consensual sexual abuse images of people including children in January 2026. Irish politician Gráinne Seoige reported that a fake sexual image of her was circulated on WhatsApp during her 2024 election campaign, which she described as traumatising and constituting election interference; she subsequently called for urgent regulatory action on AI tools enabling such abuse.
What happened
Grok, an AI tool embedded in X, was used to generate thousands of non-consensual sexual abuse images of people, including children, in the last week of December 2025 and early January 2026.
Gráinne Seoige, a former broadcaster who stood for Fianna Fáil in the 2024 General Election, had a fake sexual image of her circulated on WhatsApp during her election campaign in 2024. She reported this to gardaí (Irish police).
Reported impact
Seoige described the experience as 'traumatising' and said it seriously affected her and her election campaign. She stated she had to 'repress' the trauma and push through with campaigning, while meeting many people daily.
The incident constituted both sexual image abuse and election interference occurring during the middle of her campaign.
Index analysis
Minister James Lawless said that if a business creating such images had been set up in someone's basement it would have been raided by gardaí 'the next day', highlighting regulatory gaps around AI tools integrated into existing platforms.
Lawless noted that Grok is 'particularly challenging to tackle' as it is not the 'primary tool' but rather part of a 'publication tool', and that legislation must be able to address 'cases that aren't even envisaged yet' as technology evolves.
Governance controls
Minister Lawless stated that the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, currently being introduced, would be an 'opportunity' to help regulate the industry.
Seoige called for 'urgent action on AI apps and messaging platforms enabling sexual abuse imagery' and warned that without urgent reform the problem will continue to escalate.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.