Jump to content

Taylor Swift deepfake pornography controversy

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by DoubleGrazing (talk | contribs) at 12:39, 7 February 2024 (Commenting on submission (AFCH)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

  • Comment: Please fix ref #6, it's throwing an error. DoubleGrazing (talk) 12:39, 7 February 2024 (UTC)

In late January 2024, sexually explicit AI-generated deepfake images of American musician Taylor Swift were proliferated on social media platforms 4chan and X. The images were reported to have been initially created as a means to challenge the built in censorship of Microsoft Designer's text-to-image model.[1] Several artificial images of Swift of a sexual or violent nature were quickly spread[2], with one reported to have been seen over 47 million times before its eventual removal.[3] These images prompted response from anti sexual assault advocacy groups, US politicians, Swift's fans, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella[4], among others, and it has been suggested that Swift's influence could result in new legislation regarding the creation of deepfake pornography.

Background

American musician Taylor Swift has been reported by journalists to have been the target of misogyny and slut-shaming throughout her career.[5][6]. American technology corporation Microsoft offers AI image creators called Microsoft Designer and Bing Image Creator, which employ censorship safeguards to prevent users from generating unsafe or objectionable content. Members of a Telegram group discussed ways to circumvent these censors to creative pornographic images of celebrities.[7]

Reactions and response

The deepfake images of Swift immediately became a source of controversy and outrage, drawing condemnations from Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network and SAG-AFTRA. The latter group, who had been following issues regarding AI-generated media prior to Swift's involvement, considered the images “upsetting, harmful and deeply concerning.”[8]. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, whose company's products were believed to be used to make these images, responded to the controversy as "alarming and terrible, further stating his belief that "we all benefit when the online world is a safe world.”

Politicians

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed concern over the counterfeit images, deeming them "alarming," and emphasized the obligation of social media platforms to curb the dissemination of misinformation. Several members of American politics called for legislation against AI-generated pornography.[9] Later in the month, a bipartisan bill was introduced by US senators Dick Durbin, Lindsey Graham, Amy Klobuchar and Josh Hawley. The bill would allow victims to sue individuals who produced or possessed "digital forgeries" with intent to distribute, or those who received the material knowing it was made without consent.[10] The European Union struck a deal in February 2024 on a similar bill that would criminalize deepfake pornography, as well as online harassment and revenge porn, by mid-2027.[11]

Social media platforms

X responded to the sharing of these images on their own website with claims they would suspend accounts that participated in their spread. Despite this, the photos continued to be reshared among accounts of X, and spread to other platforms including Instagram and Reddit.[12] X enforces a "synthetic and manipulated media policy", which has been criticized for its efficacy. They briefly blocked searches of Swift's name on January 27, 2024, reinstating them two days later.

Swifties

Taylor Swift's deeply loyal fanbase, known as "Swifties",[13] responded to the circulation of these images by attempting to mitigate their spread.[14] Swifties pushed the hashtag #ProtectTaylorSwift to trend on X, and flooded other hashtags related to the images with more positive images and videos of her live performances.[15]

Cultural signficance

Deepfake pornography has remained highly controversial and has affected everyone from other celebrities like Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish to ordinary people, most of whom are women. Journalists have opined that the involvement of a prominent public figure such as Swift in the dissemination of AI-generated pornography could bring public awareness and political reform to the issue.[16]

References

  1. ^ Weatherbed, Jess. "Trolls have flooded X with graphic Taylor Swift AI fakes". The Verge. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Taylor Swift deepfakes spread online, sparking outrage". CBS News. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  3. ^ Wilkes, Emma. "Taylor Swift deepfakes spark calls for new legislation". NME. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  4. ^ Pilley, Max. "Microsoft CEO: Taylor Swift AI deepfakes are "alarming and terrible"". NME.
  5. ^ Wahi, Sukriti (March 3, 2021). "Every Time Taylor Swift Perfectly Shut Down A Sexist Interview Question". Elle. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Davis-2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Belanger, Ashley. "Toxic Telegram group produced X's X-rated fake AI Taylor Swift images, report says". ARS Technica. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  8. ^ "SAG-AFTRA Slams Explicit Taylor Swift AI Images: 'Upsetting, Harmful' and 'Must Be Made Illegal'". Variety.
  9. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. "Taylor Swift deepfake pornography sparks renewed calls for US legislation". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  10. ^ Montgomery, Blake (January 31, 2024). "Taylor Swift AI images prompt US bill to tackle nonconsensual, sexual deepfakes". The Guardian. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  11. ^ Goujard, Clothilde. "Taylor Swift deepfakes nudge EU to get real about AI". Politico. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  12. ^ Stokel-Walker, Chris (January 25, 2024). "The explicit AI-created images of Taylor Swift flooding the internet highlight a major problem with generative AI". Fast Company. Archived from the original on January 26, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  13. ^ Pattison, Kate. "How did Taylor Swift get so popular? She never goes out of style". The Conversation. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  14. ^ "TAYLOR SWIFT X-RATED AI PICS FLOOD INTERNET ... Fans Outraged & Disgusted". TMZ.
  15. ^ Rosenzweig-Ziff, Dan. "AI deepfakes of Taylor Swift spread on X. Here's what to know". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  16. ^ Volkering, Sam. "The Taylor Swift Deepfake Scandal Will Change AI as We Know It". Brownstone Research. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Taylor_Swift_deepfake_pornography_controversy&oldid=1204616701"