X blocked searches for Taylor Swift after AI-created explicit photos leaked

The fury that ignites fans of Taylor Swiftwhich could be seen in The Eras Tour, is also reflected in the repudiation TO fake pornographic images which were recently disclosed on the Internet and, in addition, led the social network X (formerly Twitter) to take an unprecedented decision on content which is usually shared daily.

In recent days, attempts to search for Swift’s quote-unquote name were successful on Monday an error message and the legend: “Don’t worry, it’s not your fault.”.

However, when Swift’s name was put in quotation marks, publications appeared mentioning his name, but with a high erotic content.

A group of accounts connected to the site Celebrity Jihad who have gained notoriety for posting controversial and, in many cases, false or manipulated content related to celebrities. From there they began to share sexually explicit images generated by singer Taylor Swift’s artificial intelligence.

After the images began spreading online, the singer’s devoted fans, known as “Swifties,” quickly mobilized, launching a counteroffensive in X and the hashtag #ProtectTaylorSwift (Let’s protect Taylor Swift) to flood you with more positive images of the pop star.

Some said they were reporting accounts sharing the file deepfake (videos, images or sounds manipulated by artificial intelligence to appear authentic and real).

“X” Reacts to Taylor Swift Deepfakes

From the social network of Elon Musk They reacted in various ways. On the one hand, the accounts who shared the deepfake have been suspended or expelled, but not before reaching more than 45 million views.

“This is one temporary action and we do so with great caution, as we prioritize safety in this matter,” said Joe Benarroch, head of business operations at X, in a statement.

And they added: “Publishing widespread nude images without the consent of either party It is completely forbidden in X and we have a zero tolerance policy towards such content. “Our teams are actively removing all identified images and taking appropriate action against the accounts responsible for posting them.”

For its part, the survey group deepfake Defender of reality said it had monitored a stream of non-consensual pornography depicting Swift, particularly on X, formerly known as Twitter. Some images also made their way to Meta-owned Facebook and other social media platforms.

The researchers discovered more than twenty images unique ones generated by artificial intelligence. The most shared were football-related, showing a painted or bloodied Swift that objectified her and, in some cases, inflicted violent damage on the false image of her.

However, the number of deepfake explicit images are on the rise, as the technology used to produce such images is more accessible and easier to use.

In 2019, a report published by artificial intelligence company DeepTrace Labs showed that these images were overwhelmingly produced against women. Most of the victims, he said, were Hollywood actresses and South Korean K-pop singers.

It is worth asking, however, whether equally rapid, immediate and effective action will be taken against less popular and rather anonymous people who may find themselves the target of a similar smear campaign.