AI Forensics exposes massive network sharing non-consensual content on Telegram in Spain and Italy

Telegram hosts network sharing non-consensual content in Spain, Italy

European non-profit AI Forensics found an "ecosystem of abuse at scale" operated on Telegram, with users distributing and selling harmful sexual content across borders despite the platform's moderation efforts. A large-scale network of just under 25,000 people spread nonconsensual sexual material and child pornography throughout Spain and Italy on the instant messaging service Telegram, according to a new report. AI Forensics, a European non-profit institute that studies algorithms, found an "ecosystem of abuse at scale" after reviewing 2.8 million Telegram messages across 16 groups over six weeks. According to its report, most of the users sharing nonconsensual sexual content are young, heterosexual men sharing content of women that are their partners, former partners or acquaintances. The most extreme content depicts children in incest and rape scenarios. The report comes after members of the European Parliament backed a ban on artificial intelligence (AI) systems that "nudify" images -- or create fake nude images -- by removing clothing from a subject without their consent last month. One in three women in the European Union has experienced sexual violence since the age of 15, which includes cyberviolence, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality. What content is being spread? The study found that the young men often obtain the source material from private exchanges on the social media application Instagram and the private messaging application WhatsApp. The perpetrators monetise the videos by charging one-time fees of up to €50 for full access to channels and archives of this content. In some cases, they also charge a monthly subscription fee of €5. "Nudifying" bots are often advertised on those channels as tools to generate more nonconsensual content. "This has allowed perpetrators to scale up the volume, speed and ease at which [this content] is perpetrated," according to an AI Forensics press release. The women featured in the videos are often named, tagged, and can be located through profile links that are shared in Telegram channels, the study found. This content is then redistributed on other platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram. Reddit is used as a "recruitment gateway" that disseminates links to the original Telegram channels where people can find the paid content. The content reached approximately 52,000 people: 27,000 people in Italy and another 25,000 in Spain, AI Forensics found. The NGO said this suggests that the way nonconsensual sexual content is being spread on social media is not restricted by national borders or platform boundaries and is a "structural problem that is European in scope and demands a European response." Telegram moderation 'insufficient', report says Telegram reportedly shut down some of the groups that AI Forensics observed, but these were created again with the same names "just a few hours later." The European organisation said that means Telegram's moderation practices are "insufficient". It recommended that moderation on Telegram should include reporting mechanisms and enforcing the platform's policies, especially the Premium subscription model, because it gives creators a way to monetise this content. The non-profit said the European Commission should also designate Telegram as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU's legal framework for online platform accountability, content moderation, and user safety. This designation would mean the platform will be subjected to stricter obligations, such as being transparent about how its algorithm works and conducting risk assessments for harmful content. In February, the platform claimed that it had "significantly fewer" than 45 million users, which is the EU's cutoff for being labelled a VLOP. AI Forensics also wants to see the EU AI Act include provisions to make it easier to remove child sexual abuse and nonconsensual images from platforms. Euronews Next contacted Telegram for a response to the report, but did not receive an immediate reply. Child sexual content and non-consensual material are restricted on Telegram, according to the platform's terms of service. AI-powered content moderation, as well as staff, are in place to counter abuse. Users can also report content that violates the platform's terms and conditions. Telegram can temporarily or permanently suspend certain functions on someone's account, such as communicating with people they are not connected to. In cases of "serious violations", the platform could block or delete users, bots, posts, channels and groups.

Researchers unmask trade in nude images on Telegram - The Economic Times

Tens of thousands of intimate images of women have been traded without the subjects' consent in Telegram groups and channels, researchers said Wednesday, calling for the platform to combat the practice. Campaign group AI Forensics said it found almost 25,000 active users in a six-week study of Spanish and Italian groups who were sharing images such as unclothed women, often exchanged for cash. The researchers tracked more than 80,000 files shared across 16 Telegram channels between December 2025 and February 2026. Almost 75 percent of them were photos, with 25 percent video files and one percent audio recordings. The files were "mostly sexually explicit," AI Forensics told AFP, with some including images of teenage girls. Some of the pictures and videos were real images, while others were "deepfakes" generated with AI tools. The study's authors also found that participants in the Telegram groups were engaged in practices including "doxxing" -- revealing personal information -- or coordinated harassment campaigns. Some members called for the women depicted to be raped, or discussed sexual images of children. Many of the images being shared in the groups came from other platforms including TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat. "Social media platforms or other messaging apps function as sources of raw material, while Telegram appears to serve as a hub for the organisation, amplification, and circulation of abusive content," the authors wrote. They criticised Telegram for its failure to prevent the groups persisting on its platform. "During the observation period, several groups were shut down by Telegram only to reopen under the same names just a few hours later, suggesting that Telegram's moderation mechanisms are insufficient," the authors said. "All the groups were active" at the time of writing the report, AI Forensics told AFP. They highlighted that Telegram combines privacy features such as end-to-end encryption, in which only the sender and addressee of messages can read them, with mass distribution capabilities -- including the ability for channel operators to charge subscriptions or one-off fees to access their content. This was "shaping the conditions under which abusive behaviour can develop with a relatively high sense of security and impunity," the authors said. AI Forensics called on the European Union to classify Telegram as a "very large online platform" (VLOP), which would subject it to stricter oversight under the Digital Services Act (DSA). Telegram told AFP that "sharing non-consensual intimate images, including pornographic deepfakes, is strictly forbidden by Telegram's terms of use". It said its "moderation systems are more effective to prevent mass distribution of harmful content than those of the currently designated VLOPs". The platform's cofounder, Russian-born Pavel Durov, was arrested in France in 2024 and is under formal investigation by French authorities. He has denied allegations of complicity in running an online platform that allowed illicit transactions, images of child sex abuse and other illegal content.