TTP Report: Meta Ran Hundreds of Ads with Child Sexual Abuse Imagery
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 8, 2026
Contact: Michael Clauw, mclauw@campaignforaccountability.org, 202.780.5750
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new Tech Transparency Project (TTP) investigation found that Meta ran hundreds of ads containing AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on Facebook and Instagram.
Most of the 332 ads showed a photo of a child, which was digitally altered with AI to make it appear the child was performing a sex act. TTP identified multiple photos of real children—including a young member of a European royal family—that were used in the ads.
“If Meta’s ad approval process can’t detect and reject such obviously horrific content before it is shown to Facebook and Instagram users, then Meta’s whole ad review system should be called into question,” said Michelle Kuppersmith, executive director of Campaign for Accountability, which runs TTP.
TTP uncovered and shared an initial batch of 53 CSAM ads with Wired in early August. In response to those findings, Meta said it had recently rolled out new systems to better detect child exploitation. But TTP found hundreds of new CSAM ads ran after Meta boasted about its new technology.
The majority of the ads directed users to AI image- and video-generator apps from Chinese developers. TTP verified that many of these apps were capable of “nudifying” people or putting them into sex videos.
TTP also found several CSAM ads placed by Meta ad agency partners in China. These so-called resellers place ads on behalf of Chinese customers on Facebook and Instagram. The system allows Meta to access Chinese advertising dollars even though its platforms are banned in China.
Ms. Kuppersmith continued: “Even when we use the tools that Meta provides to report child sexual abuse ads, we’ve seen response times of a week or longer—sometimes resulting in no action at all. The seriousness of this issue demands a much more urgent response”
Campaign for Accountability is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that uses research, litigation, and aggressive communications to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life and hold those who act at the expense of the public good accountable for their actions.