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AI incident: sexual content (Microsoft Designer, Jan 2024)

31 news reports Snapshot 7 Sep 2026

In brief

An AI system built by Microsoft Designer and Image Generation Technology and deployed by Users In A Telegram Group and Users On X allegedly harmed Taylor Swift and General Public.

Risk domain
Malicious Actors & Misuse Fraud, scams, and targeted manipulation
Occurred
Coverage
31 reportsJan 2024 - Feb 2024

What happened

AI-generated sexually explicit images of Taylor Swift circulated on X, garnering over 45 million views before removal. Originating from a Telegram group, these deepfakes challenge content moderation, as X's policies against synthetic media and nonconsensual nudity were violated.

Laws that address this harm

Policy angle: Classified under Malicious Actors & Misuse (Fraud, scams, and targeted manipulation) in the MIT AI Risk Repository taxonomy; 5 recorded instruments address this use case.

Matched from the record's risk domain and country to the instruments recorded here. A reviewer can correct the match in the repository (data/external/incident_overrides.yaml).

News reports (30)

Titles link to the original publisher; report text is not reproduced here.

  1. Taylor Swift deepfakes: a legal case from the singer could help other victims of AI pornography
    theconversation.com · Jade Gilbourne
  2. Trolls have flooded X with graphic Taylor Swift AI fakes
    theverge.com · Jess Weatherbed
  3. X can’t stop spread of explicit, fake AI Taylor Swift images
    arstechnica.com · Ashley Belanger
  4. Deepfake explicit images of Taylor Swift spread on social media. Her fans are fighting back
    apnews.com · Associated Press
  5. If Taylor Swift Can’t Defeat Deepfake Porn, No One Can
    wired.com · Amanda Hoover
  6. Outrage over deepfake porn images of Taylor Swift
    fairfieldsuntimes.com · Alex Pigman
  7. Taylor Swift deepfake pornography sparks renewed calls for US legislation
    theguardian.com · Ben Beaumont-Thomas
  8. Deepfakes of Taylor Swift have gone viral. How does this keep happening?
    mashable.com · Meera Navlakha
  9. Outrage over deepfake porn images of Taylor Swift
    techxplore.com · Alex Pigman
  10. If anyone can get the US government to take deepfake porn seriously, it’s Swifties
    theguardian.com · Arwa Mahdawi
  11. The Deepfake Porn Problem Is Bigger Than Taylor Swift
    slate.com · Scott Nover, Sophie Maddocks
  12. Dear Taylor Swift, we’re sorry about those explicit deepfakes
    technologyreview.com · Melissa Heikkilä
  13. X restores Taylor Swift searches after deepfake explicit images triggered temporary block
    apnews.com · Associated Press
  14. Taylor Swift deepfake porn points to a fundamental problem: AI can make it, but can’t police it
    fortune.com · Jeremy Kahn
  15. These States Have Banned the Type of Deepfakes That Targeted Taylor Swift
    usnews.com · Elliott Davis Jr.
  16. Taylor Swift deepfake porn inundates X, highlighting dangers of AI-generated content
    france24.com · Catalina Marchant de Abreu
  17. Taylor Swift AI pictures highlight the horrors of deepfake porn. Will we finally care?
    usatoday.com · Charles Trepany
  18. Opinion: The chilling lesson of the Taylor Swift deepfakes
    cnn.com · Laurie Segall
  19. Inside the Taylor Swift deepfake scandal: ‘It’s men telling a powerful woman to get back in her box’
    theguardian.com · Emine Saner
  20. AI-generated Taylor Swift porn deepfakes ran rampant on X. Will laws catch up?
    popsci.com · Mack DeGeurin
  21. CT senator to push for tighter laws on deepfake porn after AI-made Taylor Swift images circulate
    ctinsider.com · Vincent Gabrielle
  22. Anyone could be a victim of ‘deepfakes’. But there’s a reason Taylor Swift is a target | Jill Filipovic
    theguardian.com · Jill Filipovic
  23. The Taylor Swift Deepfakes Were Awful. How Do We Stop the Next One?
    billboard.com · Bill Donahue
  24. What to know about how lawmakers are addressing deepfakes like the ones that victimized Taylor Swift
    apnews.com · Geoff Mulvihill
  25. After deepfake porn images target Taylor Swift, is it safe to post photos of kids online?
    kslnewsradio.com · Curt Gresseth
  26. Lawmakers Introduce Bill To Ban Deepfake Porn After Explicit Images Of Taylor Swift Circulated Online: REPORT
    dailycaller.com · Leena Nasir
  27. Fake and Explicit Images of Taylor Swift Started on 4chan, Study Says
    nytimes.com · Tiffany Hsu
  28. Taylor Swift isn't the only victim of AI porn. Can the spread of deepfake nudes be stopped?
    news.yahoo.com · Mike Bebernes
  29. Pornographic deepfakes such as the ones targeting Taylor Swift do real harm to women
    policyoptions.irpp.org · Shona Moreau, Chloe Rourke
  30. The Taylor Swift deepfake porn scandal highlights how dangerous AI can be
    thehub.ca · Amal Attar-Guzman

Who was involved

Alleged harmed party
Taylor Swift, General Public

Classification (MIT AI Risk Repository taxonomy)

Causal entity
AI
Intent
Intentional
Timing
Post-deployment
Harm level
—
Sectors
—
Countries
—

Risk entries describing this failure mode

Entries from the MIT AI Risk Repository coded to subdomain 4.3.

  • Cheating/plagiarism

    "Cheating/plagiarism - Use of another person’s or group’s words or ideas without consent and/or acknowledgement."

    A Collaborative, Human-Centred Taxonomy of AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Harms (Abercrombie2024)

  • IP/copyright loss

    "IP/copyright loss - Misuse or abuse of an individual or organisation’s intellectual property, including copyright, trademarks, and patents."

    A Collaborative, Human-Centred Taxonomy of AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Harms (Abercrombie2024)

  • Financial and business

    "Financial and Business - Use or misuse of a technology system in a manner that damages the financial interests of an individual or group, or which causes strategic, operational, legal or financial harm to a business or...

    A Collaborative, Human-Centred Taxonomy of AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Harms (Abercrombie2024)

  • Impersonation/identity theft

    "Impersonation/identity theft - Theft of an individual, group or organisation’s identity by a third-party in order to defraud, mock or otherwise harm them."

    A Collaborative, Human-Centred Taxonomy of AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Harms (Abercrombie2024)

  • Dehumanisation/objectification

    "Dehumanisation/objectification - Use or misuse of a technology system to depict and/or treat people as not human, less than human, or as objects."

    A Collaborative, Human-Centred Taxonomy of AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Harms (Abercrombie2024)

  • Defamation/libel/slander

    "Defamation/libel/slander - Use of a technology system to create, facilitate or amplify false perception(s) about an individual, group, or organisation."

    A Collaborative, Human-Centred Taxonomy of AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Harms (Abercrombie2024)

  • Misinformation and Manipulation

    "Recent studies have demonstrated that LLMs can be exploited to craft deceptive narratives with levels of persuasiveness similar to human-generated content (Pan et al., 2023b; Spitale et al., 2023), to fabri- cate fake n...

    Foundational Challenges in Assuring Alignment and Safety of Large Language Models (Anwar2024)

  • Cybersecurity

    "LLMs may exacerbate cybersecurity risks in various ways (Newman, 2024). Firstly, LLMs may significantly amplify the effectiveness of deceptive operations aimed at tricking people into disclosing sensitive information or...

    Foundational Challenges in Assuring Alignment and Safety of Large Language Models (Anwar2024)

Incidents in the same risk subdomain

All incidents in this subdomain

Source record: incident #632 on the AI Incident Database · all 31 reports