YOUTUBE, X DIRECT USERS TO NUDIFY DEEPFAKE APPS

Researchers found that both platforms host material promoting nudification apps—software that digitally removes clothing from photos. The services operate with minimal friction, accepting payments and producing explicit deepfakes without consent verification. The study highlights a significant gap in content moderation. While YouTube and X prohibit nonconsensual intimate imagery in their policies, enforcement remains inconsistent. Promotional content for these third-party services persists across both platforms, effectively creating pipelines to deepfake creation tools. The issue affects primarily women, who are disproportionately targeted by such technology. The low cost and ease of access lower barriers to abuse, enabling widespread creation of fake intimate content. Neither platform has announced specific measures to block promotional content for these apps. The findings underscore broader challenges in regulating AI-generated sexual content and the responsibility of social networks in preventing tools designed for harassment from reaching potential users.