Meta Admits to Flagging Images as Deepfakes Based on 'Media Reports'

Meta Admits to Flagging Images as Deepfakes Based on 'Media Reports'

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Meta has told its Oversight Board that the company relies on “media reports” when designating images as nonconsensual sexual content or deepfakes and adding them to its permanent database of banned content.

The disclosure came in a statement issued this week by Meta’s Oversight Board criticizing Meta for its inconsistent handling of deepfakes, which constitute one of several categories of images — some legal and some illegal — that Meta flags as violating its platforms’ terms of service.

Responding to questions about two specific cases of deepfakes, one involving an Indian public figure and another an American public figure, Meta acknowledged the practice of testing explicit images using a Media Matching Service (MMS) bank.

MMS banks “automatically find and remove images that have already been identified by human reviewers as breaking Meta’s rules,” the board explained.

When the board noted that the image resembling an Indian public figure “was not added to an MMS bank by Meta until the Board asked why,” Meta responded by saying that it “relied on media reports to add the image resembling the American public figure to the bank, but there were no such media signals in the first case.”

According to the board, this is worrying because “many victims of deepfake intimate images are not in the public eye and are forced to either accept the spread of their non-consensual depictions or search for and report every instance. One of the existing signals of lack of consent under the Adult Sexual Exploitation policy is media reports of leaks of non-consensual intimate images. This can be useful when posts involve public figures but is not helpful for private individuals. Therefore, Meta should not be over-reliant on this signal.”

The board also suggested that “context” should be considered as a potential signal that nude or sexualized content may be AI-generated or manipulated and therefore nonconsensual, citing hashtags and where content is posted as examples of such context.

Meta has been repeatedly challenged by sex workers, adult performers and many others to shed light on its widespread shadow-banning policies and practices, but access to the specifics of those processes has been scant. Meta’s answer to its own Oversight Board is a rare instance of lifting the veil of secrecy about its arbitrary and often-confusing moderation practices.

As XBIZ reported, the Oversight Board has previously criticized Meta for its policies regarding content it considers sexual, although its recommendations do not appear to have had a meaningful impact on the company's still-opaque moderation practices.

The Oversight Board made nonbinding recommendations that Meta should clarify its Adult Sexual Exploitation Community Standard policy by using clearer language in its prohibition on nonconsensual manipulated media, and generally “harmonize its policies on non-consensual content by adding a new signal for lack of consent in the Adult Sexual Exploitation policy: context that content is AI-generated or manipulated.”

The board also recommended that AI-generated or -manipulated nonconsensual sexual content should not need to be “non-commercial or produced in a private setting” to be in violation of Meta’s terms of service.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Sara Jay, Dan Leal to Sponsor XBIZ Amsterdam Kick-Off Event

Sara Jay’s Wyde Syde Productions and Porno Dan Leal’s Market64 will co-sponsor the Bottoms Up Day Drinking kick-off event for XBIZ Amsterdam 2025 at Excalibur Café on Sept. 2, from 2-4 p.m. (CET).

AEBN Publishes Report on DP Trends

AEBN has published a report on DP and extreme penetration categories from its straight and gay theaters.

Free Speech Coalition Appoints Megan Stokes to Board of Directors

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced today that it has appointed Megan Stokes to its Board of Directors.

FansRevenue Acquires DivaTraffic

FansRevenue has acquired web traffic service DivaTraffic.

AEBN Announces Peter Green as Top Male Boy/Girl Performer for Summer 2025

AEBN has revealed its top 10 male Boy/Girl performers for summer 2025, with Peter Green landing atop the leaderboard.

Spicey AI Relaunches Site, Debuts $Spicey Tokens

Interactive voice chat platform Spicey AI has relaunched its website and introduced $Spicey tokens.

FSC: Missouri Age Verification Rule Will Not Take Effect August 30

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced that Missouri's proposed age verification legislation will not take effect on August 30, as it had originally estimated.

Little Caprice, Marcello Bravo to Co-Host 2025 XMA Europa Awards

XBIZ is pleased to announce that husband-and-wife duo Little Caprice and Marcello Bravo will co-host adult’s biggest night in Europe: the 2025 XMA Europa Awards on Sept. 4, in the epic climax to XBIZ’s fall events series.

Germany Will Block Payments to AV-Noncompliant Adult Sites as of Dec. 1

Starting Dec. 1, Germany will implement new rules prohibiting financial institutions from providing payment services to adult sites deemed to have inadequate age verification systems and making it easier for the government to target websites mirroring the content of such sites.

Jerkmate Joins Pineapple Support as Partner-Level Sponsor

Jerkmate has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Show More