On Telegram, men are running channels that offer tools to spy on, harass, and exploit women, some of whom are their friends, partners, or wives, according to new reporting from WIRED magazine. Over six weeks earlier this year, researchers at AI Forensics tracked nearly 2.8 million messages across 16 Spanish and Italian groups, uncovering a world where stalking, spyware, and nonconsensual images are traded openly.
More than 24,000 members posted over 80,000 images, videos, and audio files, often targeting women.
“We tend to forget that most victims are ordinary women who sometimes don’t even know that their pictures are shared or manipulated,” Silvia Semenzin, a researcher at AI Forensics told WIRED. “Most of this violence is directed toward people the perpetrators know.”
The material shared is alarming: hacked private photos, deepfake pornography, so-called “nudifying” tools, and even folders claimed to contain child sexual abuse material. Some posts advertise access to private Instagram or TikTok accounts, or tools to hack phones. “They feel safe offering these services, which directly control or steal someone else’s private information,” Semenzin says.
One translated post offered “professional hacking on commission,” promising access to phone galleries and social media accounts. Another asked, “Hi, do you have the desire to spy on a girl’s gallery? We sell a bot that does it.” Across the dataset, AI Forensics counted more than 18,000 references to spying or surveillance.
Despite Telegram’s claims that it removes millions of pieces of harmful content each day, the scale of these communities points to a wider problem. WIRED says a Telegram spokesperson said, “the company removes ‘millions’ of pieces of content per day using ‘custom AI tools’ and has policies in Europe that do not allow the promotion of violence, illegal sexual content including nonconsensual imagery, and other content such as doxing and selling illegal goods and services.”
“Telegram stands out because it offers anonymity, speed, and large networks of like-minded users,” says Adam Dodge, founder of EndTAB, a nonprofit tackling technology-enabled abuse to WIRED. “These networks thrive because the platform makes it easy to combine tools, tactics, and audiences.”
Access to these abusive channels is often cheap; subscriptions start at just €5 per month, and individual access can cost €20 to €50. In some groups, dozens of abusive images are shared every hour. Researchers report that many channels operate across languages and countries, from Italy and Spain to Germany, Portugal, and beyond.
Salvatore Romano, head of research at AI Forensics, also told WIRED these networks are just the tip of the iceberg. “Without Telegram, it would be much harder for these groups to reach such a large user base,” he says. The platform’s combination of anonymity and scale creates fertile ground for abuse, leaving everyday women exposed to harassment, stalking, and exploitation.
This comes after a CNN report found that men were filming themselves, raping their wives and selling the video on Telegram.
Ogbonda Chivumnovu
