Elon Musk's social media platform X has blocked searches for Taylor Swift after fake pornographic images of the singer were posted online.
Posted at 8:48 am
Attempts to search for his name on the platform on Monday resulted in an error message and prompted users to try the search again.
Searching for variations of her name like “taylorswift” and “Taylor Swift AI” returned the same error message.
SCREENSHOT OF X
Fake, sexually explicit images of Swift have been circulating since last week
“This is a temporary measure and is being undertaken with the utmost caution as we prioritize safety in this matter,” Joe Benarroch, head of commercial operations at X, said in a statement.
After the images began spreading online, the singer's loyal fans quickly mobilized, launching a counteroffensive on X and a hashtag, #ProtectTaylorSwift, to flood them with more positive images of the pop star. Some said they reported accounts that were sharing hyperfakes.
The fake-detection group Reality Defender says it has been tracking a flood of non-consensual pornographic material depicting Swift, particularly on X. Some images have also been shared on Meta-owned Facebook and other social media platforms.
Researchers found at least twenty unique images generated by artificial intelligence. They say the number of explicit fakes has increased in recent years as the technology used to produce such images has become more accessible and user-friendly.
In 2019, a report published by artificial intelligence company DeepTrace Labs showed that these images were primarily used as a weapon against women. Most of the victims were Hollywood and South Korean actors, according to the report.