Nudifying bots, deepfakes, and automated archives: how AI powers a monetized abuse ecosystem on Telegram

An analysis of 2.8 million Telegram messages in Italy and Spain documents how AI tools are fueling a monetized ecosystem built around non-consensual intimate imagery.

So-called nudifying bots are among the most sought-after services in Telegram groups dedicated to sharing non-consensual intimate images, according to a report by AI Forensics. These bots generate synthetic nude images from ordinary photos. The word "bot" appears 16,232 times across the nearly 2.8 million messages analyzed from 16 Italian and Spanish Telegram groups and channels. Among the disguised redirect links users shared within these groups, 49.71 percent led to AI girlfriend generators and 19.14 percent pointed to nudifying bots, the study found.

The researchers also documented how users share prompts for commercial chatbots like Grok or Gemini to manipulate images. Under the hashtag #PornoTok, users deliberately create synthetic content of female TikTok influencers, including fake audio clips featuring their voices. According to the report, AI has lowered the technical barrier so far that the number of potential victims is growing dramatically.

Automated abuse is becoming a business model

The AI-driven abuse is tightly intertwined with monetization. Archives containing non-consensual intimate images - including child sexual abuse material - are sold for one-time fees of 20 to 50 euros or monthly subscriptions starting at five euros. Payments flow through PayPal, cryptocurrencies, or the Spanish service Bizum. Some users act as affiliates for nudifying bots and claim to earn 40 percent commission. In total, the researchers identified 24,671 active users in groups with up to 27,000 members, with 72 percent of Spanish content also appearing in Italian groups.

According to AI Forensics, Telegram enables this ecosystem by design. Premium features let users organize channels into folders, bots automate access control, and closed groups reopen within hours under the same name. The platform generated $292 million from premium subscriptions in 2024, according to the report, and has been a hub for these kinds of bots since the technology first emerged.

The researchers are calling for Telegram to be classified as a Very Large Online Platform under the Digital Services Act, for nudifying tools to be banned across the EU, and for the AI Act to include mandatory safeguards against synthetic non-consensual intimate imagery.