X lifts ban on Taylor Swift searches after AI deep fake ‘porn’ controversy

The social media platform has overturned a ban on Taylor Swift searches after deepfake porn of the star sparked outrage.

Social media platform X has lifted its ban on searches for Taylor Swift after sexually explicit images of the singer, generated by artificial intelligence, flooded the internet.

The ban was introduced after Elon Musk’s social media site was accused of not doing enough to stamp out deepfakes.

“Search has been re-enabled and we will continue to be vigilant for any attempt to spread this content and will remove if we find it,” Joe Benarroch, head of business operations at X, told The Wall Street Journal.

During the ban searches for Swift’s name on the platform, formerly known as Twitter, returned an error message: “Something went wrong. Try reloading.”

“This is a temporary action and done with an abundance of caution as we prioritize safety on this issue,” head of business operations at X, Joe Benarroch said in a statement.

The hashtag #TaylorSwiftAI began trending last week as tens of thousands of users searched for the images despite outrage from the singer’s fans, who called the fake porn the equivalent of “sexual assault”.

Despite Twitter banning accounts that sent the AI images viral, and Reddit removing posts featuring the singer in X-rated positions, new accounts continued to re-post the nudes across the internet, including Facebook and Instagram.

“When I saw the Taylor Swift AI pictures, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Those AI pictures are disgusting,” said user @RanaTells.

Taylor Swift performs on stage on the first night of her "Eras Tour" at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Picture: AFP

The issue also caught the attention of the White House, who on Friday called the spread of the AI-generated photos “alarming”.

“We know that lax enforcement disproportionately impacts women and they also impact girls, sadly, who are the overwhelming targets,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing.

She added that there should be legislation to tackle the misuse of AI technology on social media, and that platforms should also take their own steps to ban such content on their sites.

“We believe they have an important role to play in enforcing their own rules to prevent the spread of misinformation and non-consensual, intimate imagery of real people,” Ms Jean-Pierre said.

Social media platform X has blocked searches for Taylor Swift.

Swift’s circle of family and friends are “furious” and considering “whether or not legal action will be taken”.

“These fake AI generated images are abusive, offensive, exploitative, and done without Taylor’s consent and/or knowledge,” a source close to the star told The Daily Mail.

“The door needs to be shut on this. Legislation needs to be passed to prevent this and laws must be enacted.”

Swift’s publicist, Tree Paine, did not immediately respond to comment from media, including The New York Post.

Non-consensual deepfake porn is illegal in Texas, Minnesota, New York, Hawaii and Georgia, while in Illinois and California victims can sue the creators for defamation.

The Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act, meanwhile, was introduced last week to make the sharing of fake porn a federal crime throughout the United States under penalty of massive fines and jail time.

Deepfake images first took the internet by storm during the arrest of Donald Trump last year, when the AI-generated pictures showed the former US president fleeing police and locked behind bars. The nascent technology was quickly turned to fake celebrity porn.

An AI-generated deepfake image of former president Donald Trump being arrested.

An AI-generated deepfake image of former president Donald Trump sitting in prison.

The latest AI images showed Swift naked and covered in red paint in various stages of intimacy among stadium crowds and the locker room of the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL team where she has made headlines for supporting her boyfriend Travis Kelce.

The images, which also showed her with characters from Sesame Street, first appeared around January 15 on a deepfake website that bills itself as creating “explosive celebrity nudes”.

Singer Taylor Swift dressed as a cheerleader in the music video for “Shake it Off”. Picture: Supplied

They were posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, this week by the since-removed account of @FloridaPigMan, and went viral via the account @Zvbear, according to Newsweek.

“My Taylor post went viral and now everyone is posting it,” @Zvbear wrote before setting his account to private.

“Bro what have I done … They might pass new laws because of my Taylor Swift post. If Netflix did a documentary about AI pics they’d put me in it as a villain. It’s never been so over.”

Swifties went into overdrive to protect the Bad Blood singer as they mass-reported accounts re-posting the images, with “Protect Taylor Swift” going trending in response.

“How is this not considered sexual assault??” one X user asked. “We are talking about the body/face of a woman being used for something she probably would never allow/feel comfortable how are there no regulations or laws preventing this.”

Another user added Swift is a billionaire and will be “fine”, ”she’s still a human being with feelings”.

“I’m not a swifty, but the spread of Taylor Swift AI pictures should be stopped. She is a Human being with feelings no matter how rich she is it still hurts,” another wrote.

A request to X for comment returned the auto reply: “Busy now, please check back later.”