Why Is Grok Still Creating Sexualized Images of Women and Children?

xAI’s chatbot Grok is under intense scrutiny after users discovered the tool could generate sexualized images of women and children, often without consent. These image circulated freely on X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, resulting in a surge of urgent questions about AI governance, platform responsibility, and whether tech companies are moving fast enough to prevent harm.

Late Thursday, Grok’s official X account began responding to some prompts for sexualized images with a notice claiming those features were now limited to paying subscribers. The chatbot acknowledged the shift followed a “backlash over its ability to create sexualized deepfakes without consent,” while simultaneously suggesting users could “subscribe or switch to the standalone Grok site for similar functions," a caveat that immediately drew criticism for not limiting the app’s capabilities altogether.

X has limited Grok’s AI image generation tool to paid subscribers following backlash over it allowing people to generate sexualised deepfakes. pic.twitter.com/VccyMuoGLD
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 9, 2026

In the days leading up to the slight change, X has been flooded with Grok-generated content that saw real people’s images changed, altering clothing, removing garments altogether, or placing bodies in explicit poses.

The trend seemed to accelerate after Musk himself shared a Grok-created image of himself in a bikini, responding that the bot had done a “perfect” job of creating the picture he then shared to his more than 200 million followers.

Many critics, including international government officials, say the new limits aren’t enough.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the images “disgusting” and said they would “not be tolerated,” adding that he had asked the country’s online regulator to consider “all options” in response.

On Friday morning, Starmer’s spokesperson dismissed Grok’s partial restrictions.

“It simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service,” the spokesperson said.

As of Friday, the Grok app, which is accessible through its own website and mobile platform, was still generating images without a subscription, some users found.

It looks like Elon has made it so only paid members of X can generate inappropriate images via Grok.

So now he’s monetising sexual harassment. pic.twitter.com/iZ3Udi2Frx
— beffy ⛄️ (@beffybadbelly) January 9, 2026

Copyleaks, an AI detection and content governance platform that helps identify when images have been altered, fabricated, or generated by AI, said the Grok trend has been growing.

“Unfortunately, the trend appears to be continuing,” said Alon Yamin, CEO and co-founder of Copyleaks. “We are also observing more creative attempts to circumvent safeguards as X works to block or reduce image generation around certain phrases.”

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