YouTube, X drive 5.7 million visits to sites making non-consensual deepfakes

Why in news

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) reported that YouTube and X drove over 5.7 million visits to sites creating non-consensual deepfakes, highlighting a failure in platform enforcement of AI safety guardrails.

Background

The ISD report highlights that YouTube accounted for approximately 30% of the traffic to 'nudify' apps between December 2025 and March 2026. These apps utilize generative AI to create non-consensual explicit imagery, posing significant privacy and safety risks.

Facts for Prelims

• S&TGenerative AI: Technology capable of creating new content (text, images, video) based on patterns learned from existing data.
• FactYouTube and X platforms were identified as primary drivers of traffic to non-consensual deepfake sites.
• BodyThe Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is a UK-based independent non-profit organization focused on security and policy.

For Mains

Q. Discuss the challenges in regulating generative AI on social media platforms to prevent the creation of non-consensual deepfakes and ensure digital safety.

Dimensions to cover in your answer

• Enforcement gap: Difficulty in real-time monitoring of decentralized 'nudify' apps and third-party links on mainstream platforms.

Keywords: Generative AI · Deepfakes · Content Moderation · Digital Safety · Non-consensual Imagery

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