Elon Musk’s X blocks searches for Taylor Swift after deepfakes cause fan uproar
Elon Musk’s social media platform X has barred searches for Taylor Swift following the spread of AI-generated explicit images of the pop star on the site.
Attempted searches for “Taylor Swift” currently return an error message, which reads “Something went wrong. Try reloading.” The duration of the search block remains uncertain.
Joe Benarroch, head of business operations at X, told the Wall Street Journal that the move was a “temporary action” and had been done “with an abundance of caution” as the site “prioritise safety on this issue”.
Fans have been rallying against the graphic fake images of Swift, which began to appear online last week. They urged billionaire Musk to take more severe action against the accounts that posted and spread the images.
In a statement released on Friday, X said posting such content was “strictly prohibited” and it had a “zero-tolerance policy” towards it.
Although the company did not mention Swift by name, it said: “Our teams are actively removing all identified images and taking appropriate actions against the accounts responsible for posting them.
“We’re closely monitoring the situation to ensure that any further violations are immediately addressed, and the content is removed. We’re committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all users.”
Musk’s ownership of X has sparked concerns over content moderation, which he has cut down on since taking over the platform, amid the growing threat of AI-generated deepfakes.