Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has blocked searches for Taylor Swift, after fake pornographic images of the singer were posted online.
Attempts to search for his name on the platform on Monday returned an error message and invited users to try their search again.
Searches for variations of her name such as “taylorswift” and “Taylor Swift AI” returned the same error message.
SCREENSHOT TAKEN FROM X
Fake, sexually explicit images of Swift began circulating widely last week on X, making her the most high-profile victim of a scourge that tech platforms and anti-abuse groups are struggling to address.
“This is a temporary measure and is being done in an abundance of caution as we prioritize safety on this issue,” Joe Benarroch, head of commercial operations at X, said in a statement.
After the images began spreading online, the singer’s devoted fans quickly mobilized, launching a counter-offensive on X and a hashtag, #ProtectTaylorSwift, to flood her with more positive images of the pop star. Some said they were reporting accounts sharing hyperfakes.
The fake-detection group Reality Defender says it has tracked a deluge of non-consensual pornographic material depicting Swift, particularly on X. Some images have also been distributed on Facebook, owned by Meta, 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 easier to use.
In 2019, a report published by the artificial intelligence company DeepTrace Labs showed that these images were mainly used as a weapon against women. Most of the victims, according to the report, were Hollywood and South Korean actors.