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This paper analyzes resource sharing practices within online communities dedicated to creating and disseminating synthetic non-consensual intimate imagery (SNCII) by examining 4chan comments and Reddit submissions. The study identifies a spectrum of users with varying technical skills who share both primary resources for SNCII creation and secondary resources for dissemination. The key finding is that knowledge transfer between experts and novices accelerates the propagation of illicit resources, highlighting vulnerabilities in current regulatory frameworks.
The underground market for synthetic non-consensual intimate imagery thrives on knowledge sharing between experts and novices, revealing critical intervention points for deterrence.
Many malicious actors responsible for disseminating synthetic non-consensual intimate imagery (SNCII) operate within internet forums to exchange resources, strategies, and generated content across multiple platforms. Technically-sophisticated actors gravitate toward certain communities (e.g., 4chan), while lower-sophistication end-users are more active on others (e.g., Reddit). To characterize key stakeholders in the broader ecosystem, we perform an integrated analysis of multiple communities, analyzing 282,154 4chan comments and 78,308 Reddit submissions spanning 165 days between June and November 2025 to characterize involved actors, actions, and resources. We find: (a) that users with differing levels of technical sophistication employ and share a wide range of primary resources facilitating SNCII content creation as well as numerous secondary resources facilitating dissemination; and (b) that knowledge transfer between experts and newcomers facilitates propagation of these illicit resources. Based on our empirical analysis, we identify gaps in existing SNCII regulatory infrastructure and synthesize several critical intervention points for bolstering deterrence.