The Internet Watch Foundation assessed 6,310 AI-generated images meeting the legal definition of child sexual abuse in the first half of 2026, already 40% above the full-year 2025 total of more than 4,500, The Guardian reported on October 51.
The UK-based monitor, which tracks abuse material globally, found more photorealistic AI-generated child sexual abuse material in the first six months of 2026 than in all of 2025, according to the report.
The 6,310 figure covers only the January-to-June 2026 window, per The Guardian's account of the IWF's findings. The prior-year benchmark of more than 4,500 images spanned twelve months.
The IWF's data points specifically to photorealistic imagery, according to the report. ANALYSIS The emphasis on photorealism points to improving image-generation fidelity as a factor in the proliferation the IWF is documenting, raising questions about safeguards built into open and closed image-synthesis models.
The IWF is the primary body responsible for finding and removing child sexual abuse material online in the UK, and its assessments feed into takedown requests and law-enforcement referrals.