Taylor Swift and her fans, known as Swifties, have united to combat the circulation of sexually explicit, likely AI-generated images of the pop star. The images sparked a viral campaign with hashtags like “Protect Taylor Swift” trending on social media. Swift’s high-profile status has given her influence in addressing the issue of nonconsensual deepfake porn, a problem that affects many women. Deepfake porn is becoming increasingly common, with over 113,000 videos uploaded to popular porn websites in the first nine months of 2023, compared to 73,000 in the whole of 2022. However, the general public still lacks awareness of the extent and impact of this issue.
Sam Gregory, executive director of Witness, a nonprofit organization focused on using images and videos for protecting human rights, believes that the attention surrounding Swift’s situation could be a trigger event for legal and societal changes regarding nonconsensual deepfakes. Many people are unaware of the prevalence and harm caused by deepfake porn. The situation is reminiscent of the 2014 iCloud leak, which led to nude photos of celebrities spreading online and prompted calls for greater digital identity protection.
Efforts are being made to address the issue of nonconsensual deepfakes. Some states have implemented laws around this, and there are moves to ban it at the federal level. Representatives Joseph Morelle, Yvette Clarke, and Tom Kean, Jr. have introduced bills in Congress to make it illegal to create and share deepfake porn without consent, provide legal recourse for victims, and require the labeling of AI content, respectively. Swift and her fans have previously held platforms and individuals accountable, such as when she won a lawsuit against a radio DJ who she claimed had groped her during a meet-and-greet.
Overall, Swift’s involvement in addressing nonconsensual deepfake porn has the potential to raise awareness and bring about legal and societal changes to combat this issue that affects many women.
