In the midst of the proliferation of AI-generated viral deepfakes featuring Taylor Swift, attempts to find the pop icon on X (formerly Twitter) resulted in an error message. X’s search feature only provided results for Ms. Swift under its “Media” and “List” tabs. According to a CNN report, Taylor Swift remained searchable through various Boolean operators. Entering “Taylor Swift” within quotation marks or “Taylor AND Swift” into the search function returned regular search results, the report noted.
Interestingly, this search glitch was not observed on platforms like Instagram or Reddit, the report added. This issue arose following the circulation of sexually inappropriate and offensive AI-generated images of the American singer across the internet.
As reported, one of these AI-generated images depicted the singer in a suggestive pose at a Kansas City Chiefs game. It’s worth noting that Taylor Swift has attended multiple NFL matches this season, as she is romantically involved with American footballer Travis Kelce.
The report mentioned that these images originated from an AI celebrity porn website on January 15. Since then, countless fans have expressed support for Ms. Swift on social media platforms.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also commented on the incident, expressing concern over the dissemination of false images. A Bloomberg report on Friday quoted her saying, “We are alarmed by the reports of the circulation of false images. We are going to do what we can to deal with this issue.”
The sexually explicit images of the pop star spread rapidly online. According to the news agency AFP, one of the images garnered 47 million views on X before being taken down. It remained visible on the platform for approximately 17 hours.
A close source to the singer revealed her anger and consideration of potential legal action against the website responsible for the deepfakes. The source emphasized that these fake AI-generated images were abusive, offensive, exploitative, and created without Taylor’s consent or knowledge. The source stressed the necessity of closing this door and enacting legislation to prevent such occurrences in the future.
