Social network X has blocked users from searching for the keyword ‘Taylor Swift’ after fake pornographic images of the pop singer spread on the social network over the past week, according to Reuters.

Searching for the keyword “Taylor Swift” on January 28 on social media platform X – formerly known as Twitter – received the message: “An error occurred. Please try downloading again.”

Joe Benarroch, head of sales operations at X, said: “This is a temporary action and is being taken out of an abundance of caution as we prioritize safety in this matter.”

Taylor Swift with fans

Taylor Swift was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” in 2023 after launching her record-breaking global The Eras Tour, becoming the most streamed music artist the most in the world.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on January 26 called these fake images “alarming” and said social media companies have a responsibility to prevent the spread of false information such as So.

Jean-Pierre said at a news conference that lax enforcement of misleading images, which can be created by artificial intelligence (AI), disproportionately affects women.

Taylor Swift was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” in 2023

REUTERS

According to The New York Times, a fake pornographic image of Taylor Swift shared on X was viewed 47 million times before being deleted.

Since acquiring Twitter in 2022, billionaire Elon Musk has been criticized for controversial posts and has subsequently worked to reform the platform’s content moderation policies. Many advertisers on the platform have withdrawn their contracts for fear of appearing alongside harmful posts.

Ben Colman, CEO of Reality Defender (a cybersecurity company), confirmed that 90% of fake photos like the Taylor Swift case are created using AI.