Child sex abuse victim begs Elon Musk to remove links to her images
A victim of child sexual abuse has begged Elon Musk to stop links offering images of her abuse being posted on his social media platform X.
“Hearing that my abuse – and the abuse of so many others – is still being circulated and commodified here is infuriating,” says “Zora” (not her real name) who lives in the United States and was first abused more than 20 years ago.
“Every time someone sells or shares child abuse material, they directly fuel the original, horrific abuse.”
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X says it has “zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material” and tackling those who exploit children remains “a top priority”.
The BBC found images of Zora while investigating the global trade of child sex abuse material, estimated to be worth billions of dollars by Childlight, the Global Child Safety Institute.
The material was among a cache of thousands of similar photos and videos being offered for sale on an X account. We got in contact with the trader through the messaging app Telegram, and this led us to a bank account linked to a person in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Zora was first abused by a family member. A collection of images of her abuse have become infamous among paedophiles who collect and trade such content. Many other victims face the same situation, as images of abuse continue to circulate today.
Zora is angered the trade continues to this day.
“My body is not a commodity. It never has been, and it never will be,” she says.
“Those who distribute this material are not passive bystanders, they are complicit perpetrators.”
