Anyone searching for “Taylor Swift” on X right now will be met with a blank page and an error warning.
That’s because the platform, formerly known as Twitter, was inundated with disturbing AI-generated images featuring the artist. As several media outlets noted, some of these images went viral, leading the platform to take action.
In a statement to the BBC, Joe Benarroch, the head of business operations at X, said that suspending searches was a “temporary action” focusing on safety.
Searching for “Taylor Swift” on X presents users with an error. Image credit: X/screenshot
The organization also made a post on its @Safety account, stating it has a “zero-tolerance policy” for such posts. “Our teams are actively removing all identified images and taking appropriate actions against the accounts responsible for posting them,” the statement said.
Despite the action, some graphic images are still available on the platform. As The Verge notes, the block applies to searches of “Taylor Swift” and “Taylor Swift AI.” But there are ways to get around this, such as adding quotations to the first term or rearranging the latter term.
X isn’t the only platform where the graphic images were posted; some also surfaced on Meta-owned Facebook. In a statement to CBC, the tech giant said it is taking “appropriate action.”
That action seems to include attaching a warning under the search results for specific terms. For example, searching “Taylor Swift AI” on Instagram will present users with a warning page. “The term that you searched for is something associated with activities of dangerous organizations and individuals, which isn’t allowed on Instagram,” the message states.
Image credit: Shutterstock
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