Meta ran ads for an app that claimed to nudify female politicians

In short: Meta ran and then removed Facebook and Instagram ads for Kromix, an app that appeared to promote making sexual deepfakes of female US politicians.

What happened

Meta platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, recently approved and ran ads for an app called Kromix. The ads suggested the tool could be used to create pornographic videos that looked like real people, including a woman who closely resembled a prominent female US politician.

A “deepfake” is a fake image or video made with AI that can make someone look like they did or said something they never did (like a realistic digital impersonation). According to WIRED, one ad showed a politician lookalike and then cut to a pornographic scene using the same face.

Meta’s ad library showed 32 ads tied to the campaign. The ads were targeted only at male users and used a tagline that promoted the tool. Meta removed the ads after WIRED asked about them.

Kromix was previously available in Apple’s App Store. Apple told WIRED it removed the app, saying it appeared to add prohibited content after its initial review and that “nudification” apps violate its rules.

Why it matters

This story highlights how harmful “nudify” tools can still slip through the checks used by large platforms, even when the rules clearly ban sexual content and nonconsensual intimate imagery. For regular people, the risk is simple: a public photo, like a press image or a social media post, can be used as raw material to create a convincing fake that can damage reputations and safety.

Source: Arstechnica