British under-18s say pictures of themselves are being transformed into nude and sexual imagery as new data reveals AI could be adding to rising reports of deepfaked online sexual abuse.
New data, published today (Monday, August 10), shows hundreds of British under-18s have contacted the UK’s confidential Report Remove helpline after AI (or otherwise digitally manipulated) nude and sexual imagery of themselves has appeared online.
The helpline, run by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and Childline, gives young people in the UK a safe way to self-report nude or sexual imagery of themselves which has been, or risks being, spread online.
IWF Analysts and Childline counsellors then work to remove and block illegal imagery, and to support the young person.
The new figures show that, in the first six months (until the end of June) of 2026, analysts have confirmed more AI (or otherwise manipulated) nude and sexual imagery of children being reported than they did in the whole of 2025.
The figures suggest reports involving suspected AI-generated or otherwise manipulated imagery are becoming an increasingly prominent feature of the cases received through Report Remove.
Since 2025, children using Report Remove have been able to indicate whether they believe their imagery has been ‘faked’, including content which has been manipulated or generated using AI, nudification tools, computer-generated imagery or other forms of image editing.
Today's new data shows:
In the whole of 2025, 397 reports received included at least some imagery that the child believed had been faked. This increased in the first six months of 2026, with 420 reports received involving suspected faked imagery. This includes all reports submitted by children, whether the imagery was found to meet the criminal threshold of ‘child sexual abuse’ material or not.
A similar trend is evident in ‘actioned’ reports where IWF analysts could confirm that the imagery met the legal threshold to be treated as child sexual abuse material.
In 2025, 221 actioned reports were recorded as containing at least some faked imagery according to the reporter.
By the end of June 2026, 268 actioned reports involved suspected faked imagery, already exceeding the total number recorded during the whole of 2025.
The IWF says tech companies must evaluate and safeguard AI models before releasing them to make it harder for criminals to abuse AI image generators and create child sexual abuse imagery.
Kerry Smith, Chief Executive of the IWF, said: “These figures suggest reports involving suspected AI-generated or otherwise manipulated imagery are becoming an increasingly prominent threat.
"Children and young people's lives are being made more dangerous at every turn – and new technologies are only making things more dangerous. It is still far too easy to create, digitally manipulate, or fake nude or sexual imagery of children. The harms and the hurt are very real, and the existence of the imagery can leave children vulnerable to sexual extortion, intimidation and other threats.
“A revolution in the way new products are designed and released is needed. New tools should be built with safety in mind from the offset – particularly the safety of children. If companies won’t do this themselves, Government must step in.
“As we welcome a new Government, and as the AI minister joins the Cabinet, this data is a clear sign there is work to do in making sure safety advances at the same pace as these new technologies.”
Rani Govender, Associate Head of Policy, Child Safety Online at the NSPCC, said: “This rise in children reaching out because fake or AI-generated sexual images have been created of them is alarming but also sadly predictable.
“When they speak to us through Childline, they can often be frightened, ashamed, and unsure where to turn.
“Tech companies cannot keep pushing out AI products without embedding strong protections that prevent this material from being created in the first place.
“The Government must act now to ensure AI companies are held accountable for prioritising children’s safety. Without meaningful regulation, children will continue to face unacceptable harm.”
Last month, the IWF and the National Crime Agency (NCA), warned parents and carers about the growing threat of children’s images shared online being manipulated into AI-generated sexual abuse material.
The organisations warned that even everyday photos could be manipulated into life-like child sexual abuse imagery by criminals with very little difficulty.
Under-18s in the UK can self-report suspected nude or sexual imagery of themselves via Report Remove.
If the imagery meets the legal threshold to be considered child sexual abuse, the IWF will work to have the imagery removed from the internet. They can also work to preemptively block the sharing of criminal imagery before it can be put on the internet.
