AI-generated
deepfakes
have again put Elon Musk-owned
X
in the spotlight. Last month, several explicit deepfake images of pop star Taylor Swift were circulated on the platform grabbing millions of views, with one of the images reportedly gaining more than 45 million views before it was eventually removed. In a similar scenario, a fake explicit video of social media influencer
Bobbi Althoff
trending on X caught millions of eyeballs hours after it was posted on the platform, prompting analysts to claim that Musk’s platform is among top sources of non-consensual deepfake porn distribution.
Citing an industry analyst, a report by The Washington Post said that the explicit videos of Althoff gained 178,000 views over the last six months on porn sites but when someone posted one of the videos on X, her name was trending on the platform.
“In just nine hours, the clip received more than 4.5 million views — 25 times the porn sites’ viewership,” the report cited data from an industry analyst.
X strictly prohibits posting non-consensual nude images
X (formerly Twitter) strictly prohibited posting of non-consensual nudity (NCN) images. Soon after Taylor Swift’s incident, the company shared a post highlighting its policy.
“Posting Non-Consensual Nudity (NCN) images is strictly prohibited on X and we have a zero-tolerance policy towards such content. Our teams are actively removing all identified images and taking appropriate actions against the accounts responsible for posting them. We're closely monitoring the situation to ensure that any further violations are immediately addressed, and the content is removed. We're committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all users,” it said.
In fact, X was one of the first social platforms to set rules against synthetic and manipulated media. Its executives noted in 2020 that they recognised the threat of misleading “synthetic media” and were “committed to doing this right.”
The report, however, highlighted that under Musk’s ownership, X “has become one of the most powerful and prominent distribution channels for nonconsensual deepfake porn.”
It noted that the platform “not only helps the phony photos and videos go viral in a low-moderation environment, but it can also end up rewarding deepfake spreaders who can use the manipulated porn to make a buck.”
“Twitter is 4chan 2,” said Genevieve Oh, an analyst who studies deepfakes, referring to the platform that is infamous for hosting deepfake porn, antisemitic memes and tributes to mass shooters.
“It’s emboldening future malicious figures to coordinate toward demeaning more popular women with synthetic footage and imagery,” she was quoted as saying.
Slim “trust and safety” team blamed
The report also notes that despite X has a policy to ban “nonconsensual nudity,” its enforcement has been limited citing Musk’s direction of laying off thousands of employees, including those who were in the “trust and safety” team that removed such content.
Incidentally, before Althoff’s video gained popularity, Musk made fun of “the whole idea of ‘content moderation’ and shared a long post generated by Grok AI chatbot.
In the post, Grok called content moderation a “digital chastity belt” and “steaming pile of horse manure” enforced only by “digital tyrants.”
“Let’s give a big middle finger to content moderation and embrace the chaos of the internet!” the post said.
English (US) ·