Children in the UK have reported a significant increase in explicit deepfake images featuring their likenesses. The Report Remove service, which helps block intimate images online, stated there has been a rapid rise in digitally manipulated imagery, including content created with AI and nudification tools.
In the first six months of 2026, Report Remove received 420 reports from children concerning images of themselves that they believed had been faked or manipulated to appear explicit. This figure has already exceeded the 397 reports received throughout 2025.
Dan Sexton, chief technology officer at the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which operates Report Remove with the NSPCC, said these figures highlight the challenge of preventing online image manipulation due to widely available AI tools. He added that the figures confirm concerns that AI would be used to manipulate images of real people to create child sexual abuse material.
The IWF noted that most manipulated image reports made to Report Remove in 2025 and 2026 were severe enough to meet the child sexual abuse material (CSAM) threshold. AI-generated CSAM is illegal in the UK, as is adapting an AI model to create abuse material or distributing such models.
Some victims who contacted Report Remove about manipulated images were targeted for sextortion, where blackmailers threaten to publish material unless they receive payment or more explicit images. Rani Govender, an online safety expert at the NSPCC, urged tech companies to implement stronger safety protections in their AI products to prevent the creation of explicit material.