ChatGPT's GPT-5.4 image generator produces graphic violence and sexual content from benign prompts via context manipulation

A BBC-reported investigation found that OpenAI's GPT-5.4 image generation system could be coaxed into producing graphic violence and sexualized imagery — including depictions of severe injuries, dead bodies, and sexual violence — without ever explicitly requesting such content. Researchers manipulated contextual inputs like memory and system prompt elements to quietly erode the model's built-in safety controls, no backend access required.

The vulnerability was first identified on January 1, 2026 and disclosed to OpenAI on January 28, 2026. OpenAI says it has since added safeguards — but independent researchers report that minor prompt variations continued yielding disturbing outputs even after those mitigations were applied. The researchers also flagged that the same technique could generate sexualized depictions of real individuals, raising non-consensual deepfake concerns.