Deepfake ranking update (2024): how Google demotes explicit fakes

What Google changed#

On 31 July 2024 Google’s Emma Higham announced changes to how Search handles “non-consensual sexually explicit fake content, often known as ‘deepfakes.’” Google made two kinds of change: easier removals and updated ranking. On ranking, Google wrote: “we’re rolling out ranking updates that will lower explicit fake content for many searches.”

For queries that specifically seek this content and include a person’s name, Google said it would aim to surface high-quality, non-explicit content instead, such as relevant news articles, when it is available. It also began demoting sites that had received a high volume of removals for fake explicit imagery, treating many removals as a signal that a site is not high quality.

On removals, when someone successfully requests removal of such content about them, Google’s systems now also aim to filter all explicit results on similar searches about them, and scan for and remove duplicates of a removed image.

When it rolled out#

Google announced the changes on 31 July 2024 and described the ranking updates as rolling out at that time. It gave no completion date. The name on this page is descriptive; Google did not give the update a formal name.

What is known about its impact#

Google gave one figure: “The updates we’ve made this year have reduced exposure to explicit image results on these types of queries by over 70%.” That covers changes made during 2024, not only the 31 July announcement. Google published no figures on how many sites were demoted.

What site owners should do#

For most sites this changes nothing. It matters for sites that host explicit imagery or that attract removal requests. Google’s current ranking systems guide lists this under its removal-based demotion systems: sites receiving a significant volume of removals for “explicit non-consensual fake content” may be demoted.

• Do not host non-consensual explicit imagery, real or generated.
• Act quickly on valid removal requests, since a high volume of removals is itself a demotion signal.
• If you are affected by such content, use Google’s removal request process for it.

How to check whether it affected you#

A site hit by this demotion would see a sitewide drop in Search traffic without a manual action in Search Console. Compare traffic before and after 31 July 2024 using archived analytics, since Search Console keeps 16 months of data. The August 2024 core update began soon after, so check the Google Algorithm Updates timeline before attributing a change.

Related updates#

• The Pirate update (2012) introduced demotions based on removal notices, for copyright.
• The site reputation abuse policy (2024) was the previous spam-related change that year.
• The August 2024 core update followed two weeks later.