After a movement of fans in defense of the singer, US political entities spoke out about the case.
A Taylor Swiftmost listened to artist worldwide in 2023 on Spotifybecame the target of explicit false images that circulated social media, with emphasis on the X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram, in recent days. The controversy has stirred the political sector in the United States, which is calling for the creation of laws that criminalize images deepfakes.
In an official statement, the social network Elon Musk declared that it was actively removing all inappropriate images about the singer and taking appropriate action against all accounts that were involved in disseminating them.
Although most of the images have been removed from the platform, there are reports that one of the photos received more than 47 million views before its removal. What happened lit a red light in the minds of internet users, who criticized X for the delay in deleting the fake images, considering that the social network removed the deepfakes only after the singer’s own fan club, self-styled as Swifties, acted in her favor.
According to information from NBC News, when the hashtag Taylor Swift AI entered the trending topics on Wednesday (24) on X, spreading montages with Taylor Swift, swifties from different parts of the world came together to place only positive publications about the singer on hashtag.
The following day, the club also launched the Protect Taylor Swift campaign, acting as a broad and strong defense front for the singer, in addition to denouncing the social network’s flawed protection system against false images and information. .
One of those responsible for the campaign showed that the swifties’ actions resulted in the suspension of two accounts that were sharing the deepfakes of Taylor, that is, breaking X’s own rule of abusive behavior.
They don’t take our suffering seriously, so now it’s in our hands to denounce these people en masse and suspend them, commented one of the movement’s leaders in a conversation with NBC News.
After the incident, X communicated last Friday (26) about the posting of non-consensual nudity on the platform.
“We have a zero tolerance policy regarding this content. Our teams are actively removing all identified images and taking appropriate action against the accounts responsible for posting them, the statement said.
Now, the name “Taylor Swift” can no longer be searched on X, as can the terms “Taylor Swift AI” and “Taylor AI”.
Meanwhile at the White House
Also on Friday, the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, commented that the dissemination of fake photos generated by artificial intelligence represents an alarming danger.
“We know that lax enforcement disproportionately affects women and also impacts girls, unfortunately, who are the predominant targets,” said the secretary.
She added that the government must create legislation to deal with the unethical use of AI on social media, as well as platforms must ban this type of content on their websites.
Other US politicians have also called for criminalizing the creation of images deepfakelike Democrat Joe Morelle, who characterized the dissemination of images as a repugnant act and reinforced his position from last year, when he presented a bill that would make sharing images illegal. deepfakes pornography without consent.
Images and videos can cause irreparable emotional, financial and reputational damage. Unfortunately, women are disproportionately impacted,” commented Morelle.
Democrat Yvette D Clarke also shared her displeasure at X:
Whats happened to Taylor Swift is nothing new. For yrs, women have been targets of deepfakes w/o their consent. And w/ advancements in AI, creating deepfakes is easier & cheaper.
This is an issue both sides of the aisle & even Swifties should be able to come together to solve.
Yvette D. Clarke (@RepYvetteClarke) January 25, 2024
What happened to Taylor Swift in the news. For years, women have been targeted by deepfakes without their consent. And with advances in AI, creating deepfakes is easier and cheaper.
This is a problem that both sides of the aisle and even Swifties should be able to come together to solve, the Democrat posted.
The other side of the American political coin also took a stance. Republican Representative Tom Kean Jr agreed with Yvette in a statement.
According to him, “it is clear that AI technology is advancing faster than the necessary protections. Whether Taylor Swift or any young person in our country is the victim, we need to establish safeguards to combat this alarming trend.”
Another country that faces the same situation is Brazil, where there is still no ban on this type of content, even though there are already bills and movements against it.
An increasing risk for minors
While legislation does not offer any security in this type of situation, technology continues to represent a threat to people. A study carried out in 2023 showed that since 2019 there has been a 550% increase in the creation of these images, fueled by the advent of artificial intelligence.
The danger is also serious and growing for minors. Recently, actress Xochitl Gomez, known for playing the character America Chavez in Marvel Studios films, commented on having seen deepfakes their explicit. According to the 17-year-old actress, she was unable to remove the images from the internet. Other rising stars on the TikTok platform also reported suffering from the same type of attack.
While the competent bodies, both in the USA and Brazil, do not mobilize to approve the law to criminalize the dissemination of these images, it is only up to internet users and politicians from around the world to join forces to combat this type of defamation.
*Cover photo: Instagram/Taylor Swift
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