Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has come under fire for flooding Facebook and Instagram with ads promoting sexually explicit “AI girlfriend” apps while simultaneously cracking down on content posted by human prostitutes.
Wired reports that an investigation has revealed that Meta’s social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, are currently hosting thousands of ads promoting sexually explicit “AI girlfriend” apps. These ads feature lifelike, computer-generated women in suggestive poses and promise users the ability to engage in sexual chats and role-play.
Digi AI girlfriend (Digi)
AI Girlfriend Lexi Love (@IntriguePublications/@LexiLove.x)
The virtual women depicted are often young, stereotypically pornographic, and sometimes portrayed in concerning contexts, such as being locked in medieval stocks. The ads appear to violate Meta’s own policies against adult content, which prohibit “depictions of people in explicit or suggestive positions, or activities that are overly suggestive or sexually provocative.”
However, while these AI girlfriend ads proliferate, many human prostitutes complain that Meta unfairly polices their own posts and accounts more harshly. Gemma Rose, director of the Pole Dance Stripper Movement, argues that if she posted similar content, she would be “deleted in an instant.”
Prostitutes and advocates argue that Meta applies a double standard, allowing chatbot apps to promote NSFW experiences while barring real women from doing the same. They point out that women have faced account suspensions and content removal for discussing sex education, positivity, and their work.
Wired‘s survey of Meta’s ad library found at least 29,000 ads for explicit AI “girlfriends,” 19,000 using the term “NSFW,” and 14,000 offering “NSFW AI.” Several of the apps advertised, which have been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times, feature very young-looking AI women and use tags like “#barelylegal” and “#teens”. Some even offer “nudifying” features to “undress” the AI girlfriends. The developers behind these apps are largely unknown and did not respond to requests for comment.
When contacted by Wired, Meta said it prohibits adult content in ads and was reviewing and removing violating ads. However, thousands of such ads remained active days later. Critics argue this exemplifies the paradox of Meta’s censorship — silencing real women while allowing “scammy” AI apps to flourish.
Read more at Wired here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
