During the COVID-19 pandemic, Omegle was used by many alt-right users for racist content, in which users harassed ethnic minorities and women with hate speech.[14] In 2020, two teenagers used the keywords "BLM", "KKK" and "racist" to match with users, reporting that many of their matches made racist remarks.[15] In 2020, TikTok user Johan Bradley posted a video of two teenage boys referring to him as a "nigger" and "sle" while making whipping noises. The Omegle users were identified as students of Shoreham-Wading River High School, prompting their district's superintendent to launch disciplinary action against them.[16] In 2020, the Anti-Defamation League began an investigation into antisemitism and far-right trolling on Omegle. An Australian white supremacist and former YouTuber named Tor Brookes (who used the alias Philip Hedley on Omegle but is more generally known as "CatboyKami") popularised the site in far-right circles after he attended a "Stop the Steal" rally in Phoenix, Arizona. He has promoted conspiracy theories and far-right extremism on Omegle, as well as on BitChute, Discord, and Telegram, such as a video of him mimicking the murder of George Floyd. His content includes racial slurs and costumes (including blackface) to mock other ethnic groups.[17] Other prominent white supremacists that used Omegle included American Paul Miller, who used the alias GypsyCrusader and dressed as the comic book villains Joker and Riddler to spread racist messages, and Canadian Brandon Martinez, who would enter interests associated with the Democratic Party to harass leftist users.[14]
Child sexual abuseIn 2010, K-Brooks expressed disappointment over sexual content on the site.[18] While video chats were monitored to flag the IP addresses of users that showed nudity or sexual content, Omegle did not he a broadcast delay to prevent minors from viewing harmful material at the beginning of a chat.[19][20] Prior to early 2013, the site did not censor contributions through a profanity filter, and users often encountered nudity and sexual content.[18] A former user who was a child at the time reported, after it closed, her experiences with the site, saying "So. Many. Penises." and mentioning people self-harming.[21]
Originally, 13-year-olds could use the website with the permission of a parent or guardian.[22] Many local and state law enforcement agencies warned of increasing sexual exploitation of minors when Omegle's popularity surged, particularly with teenagers, during the COVID-19 lockdowns.[23][24][25]
In 2020, a Canadian teacher was arrested at his home in Guelph after he broadcast child pornography on Omegle. He pleaded guilty to several criminal charges in 2022.[26] In 2021, an Australian man was arrested at his home on the Central Coast of New South Wales after he allegedly used Omegle to advertise his search for child sex.[27]
In August 2025, Norwegian authorities charged a man in his 30s with sexually abusing more than 30 children aged about 8 to 12 via Omegle and other video-chat platforms, including alleged rape.[28]