The fake images of Taylor Swift were mostly circulating on social media site X, formally known as Twitter. The photos show the singer in sexually provocative and explicit positions. Before their removal from social media, these exploits were seen tens of millions of times. But nothing on the internet is truly gone forever. They might continue to be shared on other, less regulated channels.

Swift’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Damaging potential of AI

This horrific event reignited the conversation about the potentially harmful effects of mainstream artificial intelligence technology, specifically its capacity to produce disturbing images that seem believable and authentic.

“This is a prime example of how AI is being unleashed for a lot of nefarious reasons without enough guardrails in place to protect the public square,” said Ben Decker, who runs Memetica, a digital investigations agency.

White House Alarmed

The incident occurred as the United States heads into a presidential election year, and distress is growing about how deceptive AI-generated images and videos could be used to head up disinformation efforts and ultimately disrupt the vote. The White House called the circulation of the sexually explicit images generated by AI “alarming.”

“We are alarmed by the reports of the circulation of images… False images, to be more exact,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

Taylor Mulls Legal Action

According to a report by the New York Post, Taylor Swift is pissed with her fake images, which are circulating widely on the internet. She is reportedly considering taking legal action against the website used to create her fake, explicit photos.

Fans Support with #ProtectTaylorSwift Trends

“IF she’s rich so that doesn’t matter?” Creating an AI of her naked body and engaging in sexual harassment is not acceptable, regardless of her financial status. Such behaviour is repulsive and should be deemed illegal.
Let’s #ProtectTaylorSwift#TaylorSwiftAl pic.twitter.com/hSdQtXWtO2

— Arshia Cat (@arshia__F) January 27, 2024

Her ardent fanbase of “Swifties” quickly acted, launching a counteroffensive on X and a #ProtectTaylorSwift hashtag to flood it with more positive images of the pop star. Some said they were reporting accounts that were sharing the deepfakes.

The deep-fake-detecting group Reality Defender said it tracked a deluge of nonconsensual pornographic material depicting Swift, particularly on X. Some images also made their way to Meta-owned Facebook and other social media platforms.