Million Kids releases book on child cyber exploitation

By AI, Created 5:21 AM UTC, May 29, 2026, /AGP/ – MillionKids.org has released Digital Warfare: Our Kids on the Frontline, a new book by President and CEO Opal Singleton Hendershot that warns families about the rapid rise of sextortion, deepfakes and other online threats targeting minors. The release points to millions of exploitation reports, growing use of AI companions by teens and the expanding reach of criminal networks as the reason parents and educators need to act now.

Why it matters: - Digital exploitation of minors is moving faster than many families can track. - The book frames cyber exploitation as a growing threat that can reach children anywhere they use a connected device. - The release is aimed at parents, educators and child-protection professionals who need practical guidance, not just warnings.

What happened: - MillionKids.org announced the release of Digital Warfare: Our Kids on the Frontline on May 28, 2026. - Opal Singleton Hendershot, president and CEO of Million Kids, wrote the book. - Million Kids described the book as a response to the rise in child cyber exploitation worldwide. - The book is available in PDF and audio formats at Million Kids and in paperback and Kindle on Amazon under the search term “Opal Singleton.”

The details: - Singleton Hendershot has more than 15 years of experience assisting law enforcement, training parents and educators, and researching global criminal trends. - The book says cyber exploitation of minors may be the fastest-growing crime in the world. - More than an estimated 70% of youth have experimented with Character.AI, and over half use it daily. - Predators, organized criminal networks and foreign scam operations now have access to children at any time and in many settings, including at home and in cars. - Sextortion has shifted from isolated predators to large-scale criminal enterprises since 2022. - Criminal groups in developing countries run scam farms that target minors in the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and elsewhere. - Financial sextortion often starts when a child is manipulated into sending a compromising image or enough material to create a convincing deepfake. - More than an estimated 40 teens worldwide have died by suicide after being targeted. - NCMEC’s CyberTipline received more than 21.3 million reports of potential online child exploitation in 2025. - Those reports included 1.4 million online enticement reports, more than 800 reports of an offender traveling to meet a child in person, and more than 80,000 sextortion reports. - NCMEC averaged 137 financial sextortion reports per day in 2025, up 37% from the prior year. - The release notes that law enforcement cannot investigate all reported cases. - The rollout of 5G high-speed internet in 2022-2023 widened access for predators across borders. - Law enforcement uncovered a dark web site with 1.8 million members, illustrating the scale of hidden demand. - The book explains how global criminal networks target children, how AI and deepfakes changed the risk, and how predators manipulate teens psychologically and emotionally. - The book also lays out steps for honest conversations with young people and ways families can reduce risk and build resilience.

Between the lines: - The release is as much a public-awareness campaign as a book announcement. - The core message is that the threat is no longer limited to rare cases involving one offender. - The shift to large, transnational criminal networks raises the stakes for families and stretches law enforcement capacity. - The emphasis on AI companions and deepfakes suggests the danger now includes both manipulation and fabrication, not just direct messaging.

What’s next: - Million Kids is positioning the book as a guide for families, schools, youth leaders and public officials. - The release says informed adults can intervene earlier and reduce risk. - The group is also directing readers to its website and social channels for more information and updates.

The bottom line: - Million Kids is using Digital Warfare to argue that online child exploitation has become a fast-moving, global crime problem that families need to understand now, before a child becomes a target.