By Mark Kawalya
X formerly Twitter has implemented search restrictions for content related to Taylor Swift following the circulation of deep fake pornographic images of the star on the platform.
Twitter halted searches for the term “Taylor Swift” to curb the dissemination of these unauthorized images. The platform, under the handle @Safety, communicated its “zero-tolerance policy” against nonconsensual nudity images, emphasizing active removal measures without specifically naming Swift. X assured users of close monitoring to promptly address any violations and remove offending content.
The explicit images drew attention not only from the public but also from government officials, including the White House. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed concern, labeling the circulating images as alarming. “We’re going to do what we can to deal with this issue,” she stated. “So while social-media companies make their own independent decisions about content management, we believe they have an important role to play in enforcing their own rules to prevent the spread of misinformation, and nonconsensual, intimate imagery of real people.”
U.S. Representative Joe Morelle, a New York Democrat advocating for legislation that would criminalize the sharing of deepfake porn, condemned the incident involving Swift. Morelle highlighted the disturbing impact of deepfakes on individuals, emphasizing the need to address this pervasive issue in the digital space. “The images may be fake, but their impacts are very real,” he said “Deepfakes are happening every day to women everywhere in our increasingly digital world, and it’s time to put a stop to them.”
Reality Defender, a group specializing in detecting deepfakes, reported a surge in nonconsensual pornographic content featuring Swift, particularly on the X platform. Some of these images also found their way to Meta-owned Facebook and other social media platforms. “Unfortunately, the images had spread to millions and millions of users by the time that some of them were taken down,” said Mason Allen, Reality Defender’s head of growth.
