X was blocking searches for “Taylor Swift”over the weekend following the spread of AI-generated images depicting the pop star in sexually explicit poses.
Searches for “Taylor Swift” and “Taylor Swift AI” on X returned error messages on Saturday and Sunday, though Elon Musk’s platform allowed variations on the search terms, including “Taylor Swift photos AI.”
X confirmed it is deliberately blocking the search phrases for the time being.
“This is a temporary action and done with an abundance of caution as we prioritize safety on this issue,” X’s head of business operations Joe Benarroch said in a statement sent to multiple media outlets.
The Joe Biden administration and the mainstream news media shifted into high gear after the fake Taylor Swift images went viral, seeking to protect the left-wing pop star.
“We are alarmed by the reports of the circulation of the false images,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday, saying social media companies need to do a better job enforcing their own rules.
“Sadly, though, too often we know that lax enforcement disproportionately impacts women and they also impact girls, sadly, who are the overwhelming targets of online harassment and also abuse.”
As Breitbart News reported, one of the images shows the singer naked with Kansas City Chiefs-themed red and white body paint all over her, and “F*K ME” scrawled over her chest. Swift is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and has become an unmissable fixture at Chiefs games.
The decision to protect Taylor Swift comes after the platform allowed the spread of fake AI-generated images showing former Donald Trump surrounded by young girls on Jeffery Epstein’s plane.
As Breitbart News reported, Disney’s Marvel star Mark Ruffalo spread the images to his millions of followers before a correction was added stating the images are AI-generated, though the Trump AI images remain on X.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com