#SwiftiesAgainstAI criticizes TSwift’s AI album rollout
Taylor Swift launched an online “Easter egg” scavenger hunt for fans of her newest album, The Life of a Showgirl, last Friday, sparking a #SwiftiesAgainstAI community that speculates the use of artificial intelligence within the album’s rollout campaign.
Fans have spotted AI-resonant glitches in The Life of a Showgirl campaign videos, such as a finger passing through a napkin or indecipherable text on a treadmill screen. The promotional videos have since been deleted from Swift’s YouTube account, but the singer hasn’t publicly commented on the accusations. Swift has historically spoken about the negative impacts of AI in the past — a deepfake of Swift falsely supporting President Donald Trump “really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation,” she wrote in 2024.
ICE-tracking apps blocked by Apple and Google
ICEBlock, the most popular app for tracking U.S. immigration officers, was removed from Apple’s App Store last Thursday; and similar apps have been blocked by Google and Apple throughout the week. Following a fatal shooting at an ICE field office in Dallas, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called for the removal of ICEBlock, stating such apps pose safety risks for government workers.
Over 1 million users, mostly from immigrant communities, used ICEBlock to detect surprise raids and potential harassment, according to the app’s creator, Joshua Aaron. Aaron shared an email from Apple, which stated the app was deleted “because its purpose is to provide location information about law enforcement officers that can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group.”
Amazon’s October Prime Day falls flat
In July, Amazon reported its four-day Prime Week event to produce “single-best e-commerce day” of 2025, but this week’s Prime Big Deals Days failed to produce comparable results. The average order size for Amazon’s most recent sales — which ran on Tuesday and Wednesday — dropped 15% from the Prime Week sales in July, and only 23% of shoppers leveraged the sale as an opportunity to shop discounted holiday gifts.
App updates
Fashion-curious Google users in Australia, Canada and Japan now have access to Google’s virtual try-on app, Doppl, the tech giant announced Wednesday. The app, which launched in the U.S. in June, has also been updated for users to virtually try on shoes.
On October 14, Microsoft will end support for its 10-year-old Windows 10 operating system, it announced Wednesday. Hundreds of millions of the operating systems’ global users have under a week to update computers before devices become prone to cyber attacks and decreased functionality.
This story first appeared on PRWeek U.S.
