X has confirmed that it is blocking users from searching for Taylor Swift's name after pornographic deepfakes of the artist began circulating on the platform this week. Visitors to the site began noticing Saturday that some searches containing Swift's name were only returning an error message. In a statement to Wall Street Journal On Saturday evening, Joe Benarroch, head of commercial operations at » This step comes a few days after the problem becomes known.
X's handling of the issue from the start sparked criticism that it was slow to curb the spread of non-consensual and sexually explicit images. After the images went viral on Wednesday, Swift's fans took matters into their own hands to limit their visibility and have them removed, mass reporting accounts that shared the images and flooding hashtags relating to the singer with positive content, NBC News reported earlier this week. Many of the offending accounts were subsequently suspended, but not before having been viewed in some cases millions of times. The edge reported Thursday that one post had been viewed more than 45 million times.
In a statement posted on its platform later today, X said: “Posting images of non-consensual nudity (NCN) is strictly prohibited on of content. Our teams actively remove all identified images and take appropriate action against the accounts responsible for their publication. We are closely monitoring the situation to ensure that any further violations are immediately corrected and the content is removed. We are committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all users.
But it was still possible to find the images a few days later. 404Media traced the likely origin of the images to a Telegram group known for creating non-consensual AI-generated images of women using free tools, including Microsoft Designer. In an interview with NBC News On Friday, Lester Holt, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the issue highlights the company's responsibility and “all the guardrails we need to put around technology so that safer content is product”. He went on to say that “there's a lot to do there, and a lot of things being done there,” but also noted that the company needs to “move fast.”