Twitter/X Restores Search Function For Taylor Swift After Temporary Suspension Amidst AI-Generated Explicit Content Controversy

Social media company X has unblocked the search function for Taylor Swift's name after a temporary suspension, addressing concerns raised by the pop star's fan base after a surge of AI-generated explicit content sparked discussions on content moderation practices.

Saihaj Kaur Madan

Updated on: 30 January 2024 2:16 pm

Twitter Unblocks 'Taylor Swift' Search Photo: @taylorswift/Twitter

Social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, restored the search function for Taylor Swift's name on their platform on Monday evening. This action followed a temporary suspension of the feature over the weekend due to a surge of AI-generated explicit fake images of the pop star. This incident has sparked discussions regarding the platform's content moderation practices.

Now, when users search for the term "Taylor Swift," they will see tweets featuring the pop megastar's name, instead of encountering the "Something went wrong" error message that was displayed over the weekend.

The platform's decision to restrict searches for Swift's name was in response to the proliferation of AI-generated explicit images featuring the singer on X. This action provoked frustration and anger among her fan base.

X informed multiple news outlets that they have re-enabled searches for Swift's name.

Joe Benarroch, who serves as the head of business operations at X, stated, “Search has been re-enabled and we will continue to be vigilant for attempts to spread this content and will remove it wherever we find it.”

During the past week, several dozen AI-generated images of Swift, some of which were sexually explicit or depicted violence against the pop star, were extensively shared by numerous accounts last week. Some of these images garnered over 45 million views and received hundreds of thousands of likes. This widespread sharing of explicit content led to the trending of the phrase "Taylor Swift AI" on the platform during that time. In response, the singer's devoted fan base, known as "Swifties," made efforts to combat the dissemination of these images by mass reporting many of them and sharing more positive images of Swift along with the hashtag #ProtectTaylorSwift.