This article discusses sexual violence and may be triggering for some readers. The Journal uses “survivor” to refer to those who have experienced sexual assault. We acknowledge this term is not universal. The Kingston Sexual Assault Centre’s 24-hour crisis and phone line can be reached at 613-544-6424 / 1-800-544-6424.
Taylor Swift isn’t the first deepfake survivor.
On Jan. 25, a slew of AI-generated photos surfaced depicting Swift posing inappropriately at a Kansas City Chiefs game, being sexually assaulted, and appearing publicly nude. Making the rounds on X, formerly known as Twitter, the photos were seen by over 45 million people and have since been deleted.
The photos sparked mass online debate between the two fan bases—with a remarkable intermingling of for Swift and a small percentage of individuals promoting the pornography.
Comments ranged from attacks on her millionaire status, to defensive fans calling out the toxic behaviour. Following the incident, X temporarily blocked all searches for “Taylor Swift” on the platform, and #ProtectTaylorSwift became a trending hashtag.
The release of these sexually explicit AI-generated images isn’t a new phenomenon.
This style of pornography has drastically increased in recent years, and on Jan. 10, similar posts targeted 17-year-old Doctor Strange actress, Xochitl Gomez. With the rise of AI, women and girls have become more susceptible targets than ever before, as weaponized technologies can swiftly and realistically generate false images, to be shared on platforms like X.
Experts speculate this issue is going to worsen in the coming years. The continued rise in -friendly programs has made it easier to create this violent pornography, and a drastic increase in social media’s daily presence via TikTok, Instagram, and X allows this material to be distributed more quickly.
As AI techniques advance, detecting deepfakes is becoming much more challenging. Deepfake creators continuously improve their methods to avoid detection algorithms, making it harder for both individuals and platforms to identify and remove manipulated content promptly.
This gets more concerning when considering AI can recreate a person’s voice with high accuracy. Not only can visuals be manipulated, but the voice in the video or audio can be faked to make it seem like the person is speaking or engaging in explicit conversations they never had.
With the rapid advancements of AI, the law is struggling to keep pace as a new form of sexual violence slips through the cracks of faulty policy. The term “deepfake” appeared in policy for the first time after the Swift incident, and the White House has since responded to the events by calling them “alarming” and promising to work on generating updated and more accurate policies. This includes a new bill introduced by US Senators on Jan. 30 urging for the criminalization of deepfakes and sexually explicit AI-generated images.
Nevertheless, the psychological damage these events cause is irreparable. Statistics indicate roughly half of all women will experience some form of sexual harassment or assault in their lifetime. Mixed with dangerous “alpha male” ideology, individuals like Swift and Gomez have become victims of the devastating effects of internet immortalization.
Women are unable to escape the sexual violence they endure. They have and will unfortunately continue to be targets of torment due to a tragic failure of policy. Regardless, individuals remain cautiously optimistic about future policies, though sexual violence laws remain blurry.
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