Hyderabad, July 3 -- Instagram carried paid advertisements that promoted child sexual abuse material in India, directing users to Telegram channels selling such content for as little as Rs 99, a BBC investigation has revealed.

The report said the advertisements had cleared Instagram's own moderation systems before going live, raising fresh questions about the adequacy of content checks on the Meta-owned platform.

According to the BBC, its reporters created a test account in India and began following several women whose posts on food, weather and everyday life used suggestive language and imagery. Within days, the account started receiving advertisements offering explicit adult content, including ads featuring women offering video calls ...