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World desk2 min

IWF Reports Sharp Rise in AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material

The IWF identified 3,443 AI-generated child sexual abuse videos in 2025, compared with 13 the year before. A separate count covered 8,029 realistic images and videos.
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The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) identified 3,443 AI-generated child sexual abuse videos in 2025, up from 13 in 2024—more than 260 times as many. A separate IWF measure counted 8,029 realistic AI-generated images and videos in 2025. These figures describe material the IWF found through its operational work, not the worldwide prevalence of abuse.

How much did the number of AI-generated videos increase?

The IWF’s 2025 Annual Data & Insights Report says it identified 3,443 AI-generated child sexual abuse videos in 2025, compared with 13 in 2024. That is more than a 260-fold increase in the number its analysts identified.

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The report also found that 2,233 of the 3,443 videos—65%—were Category A, the most severe classification. For comparison, 43% of videos involving real children were Category A, according to the IWF. The comparison concerns the share in this category, not the total number of videos in each group.

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Why does the IWF also report 8,029 images and videos?

In a separate March 2026 announcement accompanying Harm without limits: AI child sexual abuse material through the eyes of our Analysts, the IWF reported identifying 8,029 realistic AI-generated images and videos in 2025, 14% more than in 2024. It separately reported 82 prohibited items that were not photorealistic. These are distinct measures: the 8,029 figure combines realistic images and videos, while the 3,443 figure counts videos. They should not be added together or treated as conflicting versions of the same count. The IWF’s announcement is available at its March 2026 report page.

What did the earlier 2025 snapshot show?

In a mid-year update, the IWF said it found AI-generated material on 210 webpages during January–June 2025, compared with 42 webpages in the same period of 2024. It also identified 1,286 AI-generated videos in the first half of 2025, compared with two in the first half of 2024. The IWF reported these webpage and video figures in July 2025.

A webpage count is not a file count: a webpage can contain multiple items. The snapshot covers six months and is separate from the later full-year figures, so it should not be combined with them.

What do these figures tell us—and what do they not tell us?

They document a steep rise in material identified by the IWF, not a measured increase in all such material worldwide. The IWF says its annual findings come from operational work, including proactive detection, and should not be interpreted as a measure of global prevalence. Counts can therefore reflect what the organisation’s analysts and detection work found; they are not a census of everything produced or shared.

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Why does the IWF say the risk is growing?

The IWF describes generative AI tools—including video models, nudification apps, subscription platforms and agentic AI systems—as lowering technical barriers to producing and distributing abusive material. Its report also describes synthetic abuse, manipulation of real children’s imagery, and simulated explicit chats. The harms can extend beyond the creation of synthetic content: manipulated imagery can re-victimise children whose real images are used, and the material may be used for blackmail or sexually motivated extortion. These are risks described by the IWF, not outcomes established for every item it identified. See the IWF’s analysis of the forms and harms of AI-generated material.

IWF Chief Executive Kerry Smith said on 16 January 2026: “When images and videos of children suffering sexual abuse are distributed online, it makes everyone, especially those children, less safe.” IWF, 16 January 2026.

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