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. 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 contacted the trader through the messaging app Telegram, which led us to a bank account linked to a person in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Zora's abuser was prosecuted many years ago, but now has to face the reality that the images of her abuse continue to circulate, affecting her life significantly. She emphasizes, My body is not a commodity. It never has been, and it never will be, highlighting that those who distribute these materials are complicit in the crime.
The investigation details how social media platforms struggle to effectively eliminate such accounts and the urgent need for stronger actions to protect victims and combat exploitation.
