Taylor Swift Has Become Unsearchable On Twitter (X)
Wow. Screenshotted right from my laptop. It appears as if Taylor Swift is currently unsearchable on Twitter/X, not because of a glitch, but on purpose.
She's been unsearchable for about 2 hours now, and I think we can all draw the connection to this week's incident concerning Taylor Swift and (vile, disgusting) AI generated photos of her circulating over the past week. I haven't wanted to talk about this because I didn't want to draw attention to it; the amount of hate I see on Twitter/X these days is unlike anything I've seen in my 15 years on the website. I should save the feminism for my newsletter but the amount of people (anonymous men or women) who feel like they have the right to depict women being objectified (powerful or not) without their consent, is terrifying. AI can be terrifying. Its accessibility and lack of regulation is terrifying. As a result, Taylor Swift is in the midst of what could be a massive change in the country concerning AI software and the laws surrounding it.
The anonymity has always bothered me about the internet. I understand for most that's the appeal, but I think its bred a community of cowards and monsters, who feel like they can get away with anything from behind a screen. As time has gone by, these kinds of people haven gotten more brazen - what can I get away with next? Hate comments today, spreading hyper realistic fake images of someone else's body and face tomorrow! What is it, do you think? The control? "I'm cutting you down, taking away your rights, and I like that?" It's sick and it's sad, and it's a shame that this had to happen to the most famous celebrity in the world for people to start taking it seriously. Every other week there's a story about AI revenge porn in high schools, and there have always been issues online concerning nudity and a lack of consent. And, I know, feminist again but….it's almost always women. Men are victims of this too, but women? 24/7/365. Regular people don't even feel comfortable putting your face on the internet anymore, imagine being one of the most photographed women in the world? You shouldn't have to be afraid to exist.