Fake pornographic images of Taylor Swift created by artificial intelligence have gone viral on social media, sparking outrage.
The AI-generated photos, known as “deepfakes,” show Swift in various explicit positions at a Kansas City Chiefs game, a reference to her relationship with the team’s tight end Travis Kelce. The photos, which circulated across X, had the phrase “Taylor Swift AI” trending on the platform.
The nonconsensual photos garnered 27 million views and over 26,000 comments in 19 hours before the account that posted them was suspended, according to reports. But nothing on the internet is gone forever, and the images continue to circulate on other accounts.
It is not immediately clear who is behind the images, but a watermark suggests they came from a years-old website known for publishing fake nude photos of celebrities, reports say. Part of the website is titled “AI deepfake,” according to NBC.
The production of these images underscores the dangers of AI and its potential to create convincing and damaging material.
President Joe Biden in October signed an executive order to regulate AI and manage its risks one of them being to protect against the use of nonconsensual intimate imagery of real individuals.
Last week, Reps. Joseph Morelle, D-N.Y., and Tom Kean, R.-N.J., reintroduced a bill called the Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act that would make sharing such fake explicit images a federal crime. No decision has been made yet on whether the bill will pass.
Online, Swift’s many dedicated fans have begun posting positive messages of the singer to deter results from showing the images. Many of the posts include the phrase “protect Taylor Swift.”
Many online have expressed outrage.
“Creating an AI of her naked body and engaging in sexual harassment is not acceptable, regardless of her financial status. Such behavior is repulsive and should be deemed illegal,” wrote Swift fan and X user @RanaTells.
SEE MORE: Biden issues executive order to enhance government AI risk monitoring
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