Taylor Swift files trademark applications to protect her voice and likeness from AI deepfakes
Taylor Swift filed three new trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, covering two voice clips and one image. The filings, made through her company TAS Rights Management, include 'sound marks', a lesser-known trademark category, that a trademark attorney described as specifically designed to protect against AI-generated deepfakes. Swift's likeness has previously been used without permission in AI-generated advertising, political endorsements, and explicit images.
18
Divergence score
5 outlets covered it, splitting into 4 framing camps across 3 bias groups.
4 camps
3 bias groups
The spectrum · how 5 outlets placed this story
LeftCenterRight
NY Post
Reuters
ABC News
CNN
PBS NewsHour
Supportive of action
Neutral
Dismissive
Critical
Alarmist
International angle
Widest split · the two outlets furthest apart, and who published first
First to report
- Reutersfirst
- NY Post+36 min
- CNN+5.2 h
- ABC News+12.0 h
- PBS NewsHour+19.5 h
By each outlet's earliest publish time in this story. Feeds that index slowly can appear later than they printed.
The split, in one line
All outlets report the same filing; CNN goes deepest with specific audio clip transcripts and legal commentary on untested sound marks, while others frame it primarily as a defensive move against deepfakes with minimal legal detail.
How each outlet covered it
Broad agreement on what happened
Outlets across the spectrum land in roughly the same place: the shared language is highlighted.
THE LEFT
“Taylor Swift files trademark applications to protect her voice and image from AI”CNN CNN LEFT
18LOW DIVERGENCE
THE RIGHT
“Taylor Swift files to trademark her voice, likeness to ward off AI deepfakes”NYP NY Post RIGHT
DOWN THE MIDDLE
“Taylor Swift files to trademark her voice, likeness to ward off AI deepfakes - Reuters” · Reuters
+Hide the full sourcingSee how all 5 outlets put it
LEFT1
CNNCNN Taylor Swift files trademark applications to protect her voice and image from AI 136d ago LEFT-CENTER1
ABCABC News WATCH: Taylor Swift files to trademark voice, image amid AI misuse 136d ago 7 tracked claims across 5 outlets
Fact ledger
All7Disputed1Claimed1Corroborated5
1/5
Disputed
The specific content of the voice trademarks includes mentions of an album titled 'The Life of a Showgirl' and streaming platforms.
Corroborated
Disputed
6 more tracked claimsSign up free to see the full ledger