Meta's Ad System Ran Deepfake Porn Ads Featuring Female Politician — App Removed from Apple Store
Summary
- • Meta's automated ad system approved 32 ads for Kromix, an AI nudify tool that generated explicit deepfake porn of real people including a female US politician
- • One ad showed a woman closely resembling a prominent politician in front of US flags, captioned 'What if she moved?', before cutting to a deepfake porn video
- • Ads ran exclusively targeted to male users for up to 46 hours before being pulled only after WIRED's inquiry; Apple removed Kromix from the App Store upon the same inquiry
- • Tech Transparency Project discovered the campaign; experts warn official politician imagery is now routinely weaponized into explicit content by low-code AI tools
Details
32 Kromix Ads on Meta Platforms
Meta's ad review system approved 32 Kromix ads across Facebook and Instagram, running between 5 and 46 hours each before removal; most received 10 or fewer impressions total.
Politician Deepfake in Ad
One ad showed a woman closely resembling a prominent female US politician in front of US and presidential flags, captioned 'What if she moved?' — before cutting to a pornographic video with the same face.
Kromix: AI Nudify Tool
Kromix bills itself as an 'AI image styler' with 'no restrictions'; paid users can upload photos for scenarios including 'bedroom rape' and 'Disney love'; the app was hosted on Apple's App Store.
Meta Ad Review Failure
Meta policy requires automated review of all ads before publishing, yet the system missed Kromix. The account had no followers and was created August 3 — both red flags that went undetected.
Apple Removes App Post-Inquiry
Apple removed Kromix from the App Store after WIRED's request for comment. San Francisco's city attorney had already issued a cease-and-desist to Apple this summer over 13 similar NCII apps.
Pattern of Politician Targeting
Politicians — overwhelmingly women — have been NCII deepfake targets for years. In January 2026, Grok generated ~3 million sexualized images of women; officials in Sweden, England, and Northern Ireland were targeted using official imagery.
Expert Warnings
Katie Paul (Tech Transparency Project) raised questions about how Meta handles AI content targeting female politicians. Benjamin Shultz (American Sunlight Project) warned that official portraits and press-conference footage are now 'raw material for low- and no-code tools that anyone with an internet connection can use.'
WIRED, August 2026; Tech Transparency Project
What This Means
Meta's ad system allowed 32 ads for a non-consensual deepfake porn tool — including content resembling a female US politician — to run on Facebook and Instagram for up to 46 hours before a journalist inquiry triggered removal. The episode reveals that Meta's automated ad review cannot reliably detect explicit NCII content and failed to act on obvious red flags such as a days-old account with zero followers. Apple's parallel failure to catch Kromix, which it only removed after WIRED's inquiry, points to a systemic gap in how major platforms police both apps and advertising for tools that produce non-consensual intimate imagery. As AI nudify tools become cheaper and easier to use, the combination of permissive platform gatekeeping and increasingly capable deepfake technology poses a mounting and structural threat to public figures — particularly women in politics.
Sentiment
Concerned sharing of platform failures with calls for better oversight
“One advertisement featured a pornographic video with a deepfake closely resembling a prominent US politician. Apple removed the app from the App Store after an inquiry from WIRED.”
“Apple has removed the AI-powered app Kromix from the App Store after Meta ads promoted explicit deepfake content. This incident underscores the challenges in regulating AI-generated material and the need for stricter oversight to prevent misuse.”
“Meta ran ads for a nudify app featuring a porn video with a deepfake closely resembling a prominent US politician; Apple removed the app from the App Store”
“Meta promoted ads for an app that used AI to generate nude deepfakes of female politicians, including one resembling a US official. Apple removed the app after WIRED's inquiry.”
Split
~90/10: near-universal agreement on the need for better platform safeguards; minimal pushback or defense of Meta/Apple.