Entertainment
Outrage Over Deepfake Images Of Taylor Swift

Fans of Taylor Swift and politicians, including the White House, expressed outrage on Friday at AI-generated fake porn images of the megastar that went viral on X and were still available on other platforms.
One image of the US megastar was seen 47 million times on X, the former Twitter, before it was removed Thursday. According to US media, the post was live on the platform for around 17 hours.
“It is alarming,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, when asked about the images.
“Sadly we know that lack of enforcement (by the tech platforms)disproportionately impacts women and they also impact girls who are the overwhelming targets of online harassment,” Jean-Pierre added.
Deepfake porn images of celebrities are not new but activists and regulators are worried that easy-to-use tools employing generative artificial intelligence (AI) will create an uncontrollable flood of toxic or harmful content.
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Non-celebrities are also victims with increasing reports of young women and teens being harassed on social media with sexually explicit deepfakes that are more and more realistic and easy to manufacture.
The targeting of Swift, the second most listened-to artist in the world on Spotify (narrowly after Canadian rapper Drake), could shine a new light on the phenomenon with her legions of fans outraged at the development.
Last year Swift used her fame to urge her 280 million Instagram followers to vote.
Her fans also pushed US Congress to hold hearings about Ticketmaster when the company bungled the sale of their hero’s concert tickets in late 2022.
“The only ‘silver lining’ about it happening to Taylor Swift is that she likely has enough power to get legislation passed to eliminate it. You people are sick,” wrote influencer Danisha Carter on X.
X is one of the biggest platforms for porn content in the world, analysts say, as its policies on nudity are looser than Meta-owned platforms Facebook or Instagram.
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This has been tolerated by Apple and Google, the gatekeepers for online content through the guidelines they set for their app stores on iPhones and Android smartphones.
In a statement, X said that “posting Non-Consensual Nudity (NCN) images is strictly prohibited on X and we have a zero-tolerance policy towards such content.”
The Elon Musk-owned platform said that it was “actively removing all identified images and taking appropriate actions against the accounts responsible for posting them.”
It was also “closely monitoring the situation to ensure that any further violations are immediately addressed, and the content is removed.”
The images however continued to be available and shared on Telegram.
Swift’s representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
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The star has also been the subject of rightwing conspiracy theories and even fake videos where she is falsely shown to be promoting high-priced cookware from France.
– ‘Easier and cheaper’ –
“What’s happened to Taylor Swift is nothing new. For years, women have been targets of deepfakes without their consent,” said Yvette Clarke, a Democratic congresswoman from New York who has backed legislation to fight deepfake porn.
“And with advancements in AI, creating deepfakes is easier & cheaper,” she added.
Tom Kean, a Republican congressman, warned that “AI technology is advancing faster than the necessary guardrails. Whether the victim is Taylor Swift or any young person across our country, we need to establish safeguards to combat this alarming trend.”
Legally mandated controls would need the passing of federal laws, which remains a longshot in a deeply divided US Congress.
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US law currently affords tech platforms very broad protection from liability for content posted on their sites and content moderation is voluntary or implicitly imposed by advertisers or the app stores.
Many well-publicized cases of deepfake audio and video have targeted politicians or celebrities, with women by far the biggest targets through graphic, sexually explicit images found easily on the internet.
Software to create the images is widely available on the web.
According to research cited by Wired magazine, 113,000 deepfake videos were uploaded to the most popular porn websites in the first nine months of 2023.
And research in 2019 from a startup found that 96 percent of deepfake videos on the internet were pornographic.
Entertainment
Why I Prefer To Raise Kids In Nigeria – M.I Abaga

Nigerian rapper and music executive, M.I Abaga, has revealed that he would prefer to raise his future children in Nigeria because of the country’s strong sense of family and community.
Speaking in a recent interview, the hip-hop star said Nigeria offers a more supportive environment for raising children compared to some Western countries.
According to him, the communal lifestyle in Nigeria makes parenting easier, as relatives are often available to help.
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He said, “There are a lot of things appealing about home, especially because we’re already ingrained in that system. There’s a lot of support as well. I feel it’s very difficult for parents here.
“But if you have family, now you have enough people that can stay at home and support you. But it’s not easy, man.”
M.I contrasted this with life abroad, particularly in the United States, where many people work long hours and family members may not be available to offer help.
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He added that while he understands the appeal of raising kids overseas, Nigeria provides a stronger foundation for children to understand their roots and culture before gaining exposure abroad.
Although M.I noted that he is not yet making concrete family plans, he emphasized that Nigeria’s close-knit culture remains one of its greatest advantages when it comes to raising children.
Entertainment
Oscar-winning Actress Diane Keaton Dead At 79 – Report

Actress Diane Keaton, known for her Oscar-winning performance in 1977’s “Annie Hall” and her role in “The Godfather” films, has died at age 79, People magazine reported Saturday.
Details were not immediately available, and Keaton’s loved ones have asked for privacy, a family spokesperson told People, which confirmed that the actress died in California.
Keaton, a style icon, was a frequent collaborator of director Woody Allen, portraying the titular character in “Annie Hall,” the charming girlfriend of Allen’s comic Alvy Singer.
The film also garnered Oscars for best picture, best director and best original screenplay, cementing Keaton’s place as one of the industry’s top actresses and an offbeat style icon as well.
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The actress made her mark co-starring in eight Allen movies, from “Play in Again Sam” (1972) to “Manhattan” (1979) and “Manhattan Murder Mystery” (1993).
As the Hollywood sexual harassment scandals detonated in late 2017, cascading from producer Harvey Weinstein to heavyweight actors like Kevin Spacey, old accusations of child sex abuse against Allen by his adoptive daughter Dylan, resurfaced.
“Woody Allen is my friend and I continue to believe him,” Keaton tweeted in January 2018.
A BAFTA and Golden Globe winner, Keaton scored Oscar nominations three other times for best actress, for “Reds,” “Marvin’s Room” and “Something’s Gotta Give.”
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In “The Godfather” films, she played Kay Adams, the girlfriend and eventual wife of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone.
Late in her career, Keaton starred in two movies about ageing women: “Book Club” (2018), with its message that love has no age, and “Poms” (2019).
“Poms” is the story of Martha, a terminally ill woman who moves to a retirement community to die, but winds up forming a cheerleading squad made up of female senior citizens.
As for ageing, Keaton said in a 2019 interview with AFP that life actually got easier.
“I think so, because what have you got to lose? It’s like it’s the truth. That’s what it is. You face it, we talk about it,” she said.
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Born Diane Hall in Los Angeles on January 5, 1946, Keaton was romantically involved with Allen, Pacino and Warren Beatty, but never married.
“Most people in the movies get married at some point, and then they divorce. But I’ve never even got married. I am (a) failure,” she joked in the 2019 interview.
Did she regret it? “I don’t think about it a lot, but I’m aware of the fact that I’m unusual in that regard, and maybe I did miss out on something — but then, nobody can have everything, right?”
She is survived by her two children, Dexter and Duke.
AFP
Entertainment
Why I Can’t Quit Music – Erigga

Nigerian rapper Erhiga Agarivbie, popularly known as Erigga, has revealed that he can’t quit music, stressing that he is doing it for passion and not for financial gains.
In an interview with Hip TV, Erigga noted that every year, some of his colleagues leave the music industry due to various circumstances.
However, he said he can’t quit because music is his life.
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The rapper emphasised that his passion for music supersedes the financial and social benefits.
“Every year, people leave music for real-life issues. But I can’t stop. Music is life. It’s what keeps me going. Take the business and everything out of it, it’s more of a passion. I can’t disappoint my fans,” Erigga said.
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