Proving they're there for their hero in good times and bad, Swifties are taking action as only they know how to counter the graphic, disturbing fake AI images of Taylor Swift circulating on X/Twitter. Fans of the pop icon are cleverly flooding the platform with the same hashtags that were being used to circulate the offending images — but instead Swifties are attaching messages of support that promote actual clips of Swift performances to bury the deep fakes.

The whole controversy began in the last 48 hours or so, when graphic, explicit, completely fake and AI-generated sexual images of Taylor Swift started going viral on X/Twitter. According to The Verge, one such image generated more than 45 million views, 24,000 reposts and hundreds of thousands of likes and bookmarks before the verified user who first posted the explicit material eventually had their account suspended for violating platform policy.

That wasn't soon enough for Swifties, or fans of human decency in general — with the post staying live on the platform for approximately 17 hours before it was finally removed.

That's an eternity in X/Twitter time when you consider that it gave users far too long to discuss the post, make it go viral and continue reposting to other accounts and across social media platforms. The incident also led to a barrage of new explicit fake AI images since appearing, many of which remain up.

The term “Taylor Swift AI” also began appearing as a trending topic in some regions, making the images even more accessible and to a broader audience. As The Verge further points out, “X’s policies regarding synthetic and manipulated media and nonconsensual nudity both explicitly ban this kind of content from being hosted on the platform.” The site adds that, “X has not responded to our request for comment.”

That's when Swifties took action into their own hands and began flooding the X/Twitter platform with their positive messages of support.

Deepfake pornographic images are a big problem in the age of AI, with not all AI image generators coded to prevent explicit and pornographic material. Add this to the growing list of likeness concerns for artists and other celebrities who have been sounding the alarms about the dangers of this powerful technology.

For now, judging by the “PROTECT TAYLOR SWIFT” hashtag trending as of this writing, it seems Swifties are doing all they can to weather this particular AI-generated storm — but more are sure to follow. Safeguards need to be put in place and fast.