Taylor Swift Searches Remain Blocked on X After Spread of Fake Explicit Images of Pop Singer

Users continue to face difficulties accessing singer Taylor Swift's profile on X, more than a day after search results for her name were blocked on the platform due to the circulation of fake sexually explicit images. The Head of Business Operations for X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, clarified that the action was temporary.

When users attempt to search for Taylor Swift on X, they encounter an issue where her profile and search results in the categories of Top, Latest, and People appear blank, accompanied by an error message stating, "Something went wrong, but don’t fret - it’s not your fault."

On Sunday, searches for Taylor Swift's name on the platform resulted in an error message instructing users to reload the page.

"This is a temporary action and done with an abundance of caution as we prioritize safety on this issue," Joe Benarroch, head of business operations at X, said in a statement.

According to reports, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the fake images "alarming" on Friday, and said social media companies have a responsibility to prevent the spread of such misinformation.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told ABC News, "We are alarmed by the reports of the ... circulation of images that you just laid out of false images to be more exact, and it is alarming ... While social media companies make their own independent decisions about content management, we believe they have an important role to play in enforcing their own rules to prevent the spread of misinformation, and non-consensual, intimate imagery of real people."

The issue brings to mind a similar incident involving actress Rashmika Mandanna in India, which prompted government attention. Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar recently issued an advisory for social media platforms to remove deepfakes and misinformation, or face action for such content.

The use of artificial intelligence to create manipulated videos, known as deepfakes, has seen a significant increase. A study conducted in 2023 revealed a 550% surge in the creation of altered images since 2019, driven by the advancements in AI technology.