Research reveals verified X (Twitter) profiles promote child abuse content

Users with verified profiles on X were promoting child abuse content on the social network. sharing links to sites that sell such materials. This is an investigation carried out BBCdetails were announced last Thursday (21).

According to the report, at least five accounts were identified with pages that published old Twitter verification seals, through which it was possible to purchase such content. One of these users posted links to sites for more than six months without the company taking any action against him.

The report shows that relevant profiles are taking advantage of the feature of boosting posts, one of the benefits offered to subscribers, to reach more people on the platform. Even though authors only have tens or hundreds of followers, some of his posts were viewed more than 40 thousand times.

still see BBCThe distribution of child abuse websites was done using the “Arabic dialect keywords” adopted by pedophiles to interact, making identification difficult. The work also included the promotion of channels on Telegram that offer files marked “new boy” and “new girl”.

excessive content

Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which works to investigate, report and remove images of child sexual abuse on digital media. confirmed that one of the verified accounts was promoting the materials. He shared videos from “category B,” the second most extreme category that classifies non-penetrative sexual activity with children.

The images, which were subject to some form of censorship, included unidentified children aged between 7 and 10, of different ethnic origins. Another unverified account with even more extreme content was captured by the organization, marked as “category A”, depicting penetrative sexual intercourse involving a 10-year-old boy.

According to experts involved in the investigation, other accounts examined were suspended or their contents were deleted without checking. An X representative said the reported profiles were blockedbut did not provide any other details about the case.