X ends ban on Taylor Swift searches after explicit fake images spread

X (formerly Twitter) blocked searches for Swift after her AI-generated explicit images went viral on its platform last week.

Published: Jan 31, 2024, 08:13 AM IST

Sexually explicit fake images of Taylor Swift went viral on X recently.

Story Highlights

X faced severe backlash for not taking swift action against AI fakes of Taylor Swift.
Several AI-generated sexually explicit images of Swift cropped up on X last week.
While X tried to remove some content, it resorted to disabling the search term to be safe.

Elon Musk-run X has lifted the ban on searches for Taylor Swift that blocked queries of her name for several days following the spread of explicit, digitally altered photos of her. The social media platform, previously known as Twitter, launched the ban after it received severe backlash for allowing AI-generated sexually explicit fake images of the musician for several hours. The White House immediately called for legislation to protect individuals from deep fakes and AI-generated content.

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Joe Benarroch, head of business operations at X, told the Wall Street Journal on Monday, that “search has been re-enabled and we will continue to be vigilant for any attempt to spread this content and will remove it if we find it.” Previously, X said that “posting Non-Consensual Nudity (NCN) images is strictly prohibited on X and we have a zero-tolerance policy towards such content.” In general, X allows pornographic content as long as it does not violate the guidelines.

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The company blocked searches for Swift after her AI-generated explicit images went viral on its platform last week. Millions saw the popular singer’s images before X removed those using hashtags such as “#TaylorSwiftAI.” Although Swifties — the musician’s fans — managed to drown out the related posts by making hundreds of non-sexual posts for the same search term, the company was criticised for slow action on those images.

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After blocking, searches for Swift’s name yielded the error message: “Something went wrong. Try reloading.” The social media platform had called the measure a temporary action done with an “abundance of caution.”

A ban on search results came after the White House weighed in last week, calling the fake images “alarming” and emphasising that social media companies are responsible for preventing the spread of such misinformation. The Verge quoted White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre as saying that “Congress should take legislative action.”

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said that the explicit Swift AI fakes are “alarming and terrible.” Swift was reportedly weighing possible legal action against the website that generated the deepfakes.