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taylor swift
Taylor Swift Gets It, Says Watchdog: AI Deepfakes Are a Danger to Democracy
"The need for federal regulations to address this type of misinformation and prevent AI deepfakes from upending our elections and undermining our democracy has never been more urgent," said one advocate.
Sep 11, 2024
The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen on Wednesday applauded pop star Taylor Swift for using her platform and her endorsement of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race to go beyond simply expressing support for the Democratic candidate—choosing instead to also call attention to artificial intelligence and how it's been used to spread misinformation.
"Recently I was made aware that AI of 'me' falsely endorsing Donald Trump's presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation," wrote Swift in an Instagram post announcing her endorsement of Harris.
Swift was referring to a false AI-generated image, known as a deepfake, that showed the singer-songwriter's likeness dressed as Uncle Sam with the caption, "Taylor Wants You to Vote for Donald Trump." Trump shared the image on his Truth Social account in August, along with fake images of people appearing to wear shirts that read, "Swifties for Trump."
The images were shared days after the Federal Election Commission's Republican chair, Sean Cooksey, had announced the agency would not establish new rules to prohibit political candidates or groups from misrepresenting opponents or issues with deceptive images.
Cooksey had said the FEC wanted to wait and see "how AI is actually used on the ground before considering any new rules"—a decision Public Citizen denounced as "shameful."
On Wednesday, Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert noted that the way AI and deepfakes can and will be used has already been made clear, partially by Swift's experience.
"Taylor Swift—who has been a victim of both AI-generated election misinformation and AI-generated non-consensual intimate deepfakes—is correct in identifying the immensely damaging harms that could result from the spread of AI misinformation, including abuses of our elections."
In addition to the images shared by Trump, billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a Trump supporter, posted on social media a deepfake video that showed a manipulated image of Harris.
"The need for federal regulations to address this type of misinformation and prevent AI deepfakes from upending our elections and undermining our democracy," said Gilbert, "has never been more urgent."
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Fresh Warnings of Election Deepfakes After Trump's Taylor Swift Stunt
"The potential harms to our society that could result from such misinformation, including abuses of our elections, are wide-reaching and immensely damaging."
Aug 20, 2024
U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's posting of artificial intelligence-generated images suggesting pop star Taylor Swift had endorsed him earned him the ridicule of Swift's fans and journalists this week, but at least one pro-democracy watchdog warned that the incident served as a reminder that regulators must act with much more urgency to stop such behavior.
On Sunday, Trump used his Truth Social account to share the AI-generated images, known as "deepfakes," one of which showed Swift dressed up as Uncle Sam with the caption, "Taylor Wants You to Vote for Donald Trump." Others showed people wearing shirts that read, "Swifties for Trump."
Trump wrote, "I accept," in his post sharing the images, suggesting he was accepting a formal endorsement.
"The AI-generated deepfakes of Taylor Swift are yet another example of AI's power to create misinformation that deceives and defrauds voters," said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen. "The potential harms to our society that could result from such misinformation, including abuses of our elections, are wide-reaching and immensely damaging."
The images represent the latest escalation in Trump's fixation with Swift, who has made headlines over the last year with her record-breaking Eras Tour and who publicly supported President Joe Biden in 2020.
Far-right commentators melted down earlier this year as misinformation and baseless conspiracy theories spread about Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, being part of a "deep state" plan to secure a Democratic victory in November.
Swift has made her liberal political views well-known in recent years but has yet to announce an endorsement in the 2024 presidential race. She condemned Trump's violent rhetoric during nationwide racial justice protests in 2020, and accused him of "stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism."
"The AI-generated deepfakes of Taylor Swift are yet another example of AI's power to create misinformation that deceives and defrauds voters."
Her criticism appears to have irritated Trump for years, with the former president complaining earlier this year that a failure by Swift to endorse him would be "disloyal" because he signed legislation making it easier for musical artists to collect royalties from streaming platforms.
Political observers have speculated that this year, repeated criticism of so-called "childless cat ladies" by Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), as well as the Republicans' support for forced pregnancy laws, will not help the GOP ticket win over Swift's large fan base.
Trump's use of deepfake images comes after Public Citizen has spearheaded calls for the Federal Elections Commission to regulate AI-generated images; earlier this month, the FEC's Republican chair, Sean Cooksey, announced the agency would not establish rules prohibiting political candidates or groups from misrepresenting opponents or issues with deceptive images.
Prior to Trump sharing the fake images of Swift and her fans on Sunday, billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk had posted a deepfake video featuring a manipulated image of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Public Citizen co-president Robert Weissman said earlier this month that political deepfakes "are rushing at us, threatening to disrupt electoral integrity."
"Requiring that political deepfakes be labeled doesn't favor any political party or candidate," he said. "It simply protects voters from fraud and chaos."
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A Super Bowl Note to Taylor Swift: Love the Music, Park the Private Jet
Congrats, Taylor, for your talent and decades of consistently great songwriting. You deserve all the accolades and rewards. But I have one request...
Feb 09, 2024
I spent a decade, like many parents, chauffeuring pre-teen and teenage girls around to a Taylor Swift soundtrack. I learned every Swift song as it was released and sang along to the chorus in the car. I even went to one of her first stadium concerts with my young Swifties. It was an extraordinary show.
Congrats, Taylor, for your talent and decades of consistently great songwriting. You deserve all the accolades and rewards. Here’s my one request: Give up your private jet.
Those young fans of yours that I used to shuttle around are now campaigning against climate change. They’re organizing to stop new oil, gas, and coal infrastructure from being built. They understand this is the critical decade to shift our trajectory away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy sources.
Like so many challenges in our country, private jet pollution is increasing alongside inequality.
And they need you, once again, to sing a new song.
I know you’re dealing with a lot of crazy conspiracy theories in right-wing media. In their zeal to denounce you, you even succeeded in getting Fox News to admit that private jet travel contributes to climate change, which is no small feat!
But it’s true. Private jets emit 10 to 20 times more pollutants per passenger than commercial jets. You know it’s wrong — that’s why you cover your face [with an umbrella] when you’re disembarking.
As thousands of private jets — including yours — head to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl, we should focus our attention on the considerable harms of this most ecologically damaging form of transportation. Apparently, billionaires are having a hard time finding a parking spot for their jets for the big event. (But the NFL has reportedly reserved you a spot since your interest in football, or at least Travis Kelce, is the biggest audience boost they’ve had in decades.)
We all have that experience of wishing we could be two places at once. I’ve been on a work trip and wished I could zip home for my daughter’s soccer game. But if you really do fly from Tokyo to Las Vegas and then to Melbourne within a few days, you’ll burn an estimated 8,800 gallons of jet fuel and create about 90 tons of carbon emissions. That’s the equivalent of the entire carbon burn of six average U.S. households for an entire year.
Like so many challenges in our country, private jet pollution is increasing alongside inequality. As wealth has concentrated in fewer hands over the last several decades, the demand for private jets has soared. According to a report I co-authored for the Institute for Policy Studies, High Flyers 2023, the number of private jets has grown 133 percent over the last two decades. And just 1 percent of flyers now contribute half of all carbon emissions from aviation.
At a time when our country should be investing bigger in renewable infrastructure, this demand is driving a push to expand private jet infrastructure instead.
Outside Boston, a private developer wants to triple the private jet hangar capacity at Hanscom Field, the region’s largest private jet airport. Our research found that at least half the flights in and out of Hanscom Field are to luxury and recreation destinations, such as Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Aspen, and West Palm Beach.
More and more Americans are asking: Should we set off a carbon bomb of emissions so the ultra-rich can fly to their vacation destinations? And more and more are answering no. In Massachusetts, a grassroots coalition called Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom and Everywhere is calling on the governor to reject the Hanscom project for environmental reasons.
The private jet lobby has answered these concerns with greenwashing spin about “sustainable aviation fuels.” They’d like us all to believe we’ll be jetting around on food waste in a decade. But scientific bodies, such as the UK Royal Society, have pointed out that achieving “jet zero” would require shifting millions of acres of agricultural land out of food production and into fuel. It’s just not realistic.
More and more Americans are asking: Should we set off a carbon bomb of emissions so the ultra-rich can fly to their vacation destinations?
Unfortunately, “carbon offsets” don’t meaningfully address the problem either. Research shows these incentives, where polluting industries or their customers pay a little extra to “offset” their emissions with conservation efforts, don’t reduce deforestation or other climate change drivers.
Banning or restricting private jet travel would be one of the easiest paths to reducing emissions if it weren’t a luxury consumed by the most wealthy and powerful people on the planet. But climate advocates are still working to find a way. Here in the U.S., we’re trying to make sure private jet users pay the real financial and ecological costs of their luxury travel. In Congress, Senator Ed Markey and Rep. Nydia Velazquez have proposed hiking the tax on private jet fuel.
Banning or restricting private jet travel would be one of the easiest paths to reducing emissions if it weren’t a luxury consumed by the most wealthy and powerful people on the planet.
But there’s good news, Taylor: If you ground your jet, you won’t be alone. Lots of people are rethinking jet travel. The Premier League UK soccer teams are considering a ban on short-hop flights. And after learning about the climate costs of private jet travel, millionaire Stephen Prince publicly decided to sell his jet.
What’s more, a generation of music stars toured without jets, taking the proverbial tour bus. And it sparked a lot of great songs about this amazing land. Taylor, if you want to be green, stay on the ground. Your fans will love you and the future generations will thank you.
I believe there’s a song there.
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