Platform X temporarily bans Taylor Swift searches after deepfake concerns

(MENAFN) Elon Musk's social media platform, X, recently faced controversy as it temporarily blocked searches for Taylor Swift due to the circulation of pornographic deepfake images featuring the singer. The platform, formerly known as Twitter, took this action after sexually explicit and abusive fake images of Swift gained widespread circulation, making her a prominent target of this disturbing trend that tech platforms and anti-abuse groups have been grappling with.

On Tuesday, searches for Taylor Swift's name on the X platform returned results as usual, displaying a list of tweets related to the singer. However, the day before, users attempting the same search encountered an error message and a prompt asking them to retry the search, accompanied by a reassuring message stating, "Don’t fret — it’s not your fault." Despite the temporary block, some users found a workaround by placing quote marks around the singer's name.

The head of business operations at X, Joe Benarroch, explained that the platform had taken "temporary action" to suspend searches for Taylor Swift as a precautionary measure to prioritize safety. He emphasized the company's vigilance in monitoring any attempts to spread such content and affirmed their commitment to promptly removing any offensive material found.

In response to the incident, Benarroch stated that search functionality has been re-enabled, but the platform remains vigilant against the dissemination of inappropriate content. The challenges posed by deepfake technology and the circulation of explicit and harmful content underscore the ongoing struggle of social media platforms and advocacy groups to effectively address and combat these issues.

MENAFN30012024000045015682ID1107786701