1.2 million children across 11 countries reported being targeted by deepfake sexual abuse last year.
Justice & Anti-CorruptionInternational
- Omissions
- The study was conducted by UNICEF in partnership with ECPAT and INTERPOL, not just UNICEF alone. The 11 countries included in the study were Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, Philippines, Romania, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, and Uruguay. The report was published on February 5, 2026, which is after the claimed 'last year' period but contains data from 2025. The figure represents self-reported disclosures from children surveyed in those countries, not confirmed cases of actual abuse.
- Sources
- PrimaryUNICEF Press ReleaseAt least 1.2 million children across 11 countries disclosed having their images manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes in the past year, according to a new UNICEF, ECPAT and INTERPOL study.
- SecondaryUN NewsA UNICEF, ECPAT and INTERPOL study across 11 countries found that at least 1.2 million children had their images manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes in the past year.
- SecondaryDevelopmentAid NewsAt least 1.2 million children have had their images manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes in the past year, according to new evidence from a study by UNICEF, ECPAT and INTERPOL across 11 countries.