Taylor Swift, target of conspiracy theories before the US presidential election

As her popularity reaches new heights in the United States, singer Taylor Swift is the subject of the craziest theories on social networks.

Claims that Taylor Swift is working for Joe Biden’s government, that she is a Pentagon pawn recruited by the Democratic Party to influence the results of the 2024 presidential election, were first posted on social media by right-wing commentators. But these wild theories were relayed this week on the air by presenter Jesse Watters of the favorite channel of American conservatives, Fox News, the presenter adding at the same time that he did not have “obviously no evidence”.

“Have you ever wondered why Taylor Swift is everywhere? Four years ago, the Pentagon’s psychological operations unit brought up the idea of ​​using her as an asset at a NATO conference”launched Jesse Watters, showing images of a summit of the American agency on cybersecurity and disinformation dating from 2019.

But the video shows no connection between the singer and the Pentagon or any other government agency. It is actually a presentation by a researcher who has no affiliation with NATO, and cites Taylor Swift as a simple example of influential personalities on the internet.

“Help all Americans get to the polls”

Jesse Watters also mentioned on the air the peak in attendance of the Vote.org platform after a publication on Instagram by the singer inviting her approximately 270 million subscribers to register on the electoral lists, a sign according to him that “someone” would have influenced her from the White House.

Contacted by AFP, Taylor Swift’s press secretary referred to a message posted Tuesday on X by Andrea Hailey, president of Vote.org.

“Our collaboration with Taylor Swift exists to help all Americans get to the polls”explains Andrea Hailey. “This is in no way a Pentagon operation.” Fox News declined to comment further to AFP.

This targeting of conspiracy theorists on the singer is only likely to increase as the elections approach, experts believe.

A popularity that disturbs

At the height of his popularity and crowned personality of the year by Time magazine, the 34-year-old artist broke all records with his “Eras Tour” in 2023, his private life also being the subject of all attention , especially since the start of her highly publicized relationship with American football star Travis Kelce.

Personal attacks followed. Far-right commentators accuse him of performing black magic at his concerts and conservative figure Charlie Kirk even wonders on his podcast if “she is still fertile.”

“Not only is Swift, by her OWN ADMISSION, a satanic witch, she is also a TOOL OF THE PENTAGON to influence the vote of THOUSANDS of young voters”recently posted an account promoting QAnon conspiracy theories about X.

For Swapnil Rai, professor at the University of Michigan, “the discourse is excessively gendered because it is much easier to attach these kinds of bizarre theories to a woman.”

“MAGA” vs. “Swifties”

In December, far-right commentator Laura Loomer also described the 2024 presidential election as a face-off between “MAGA and Swifties”, thus pitting Trumpists against fans of the singer.

If Taylor Swift is not a pawn of the Pentagon, her electoral support is nonetheless at the heart of all the desires before the election. “No one has more clout in terms of electoral support than Swift.”estimates David Jackson, professor at Bowling Green State University.

Taylor Swift, discreet about her political beliefs, openly supported Joe Biden against Donald Trump in 2020, accusing the Republican of having “fanned the flames of white supremacism and racism throughout (his) tenure.”

In the past, the artist has campaigned for the rights of LGBT+ people and opposed the Supreme Court’s decision to remove the constitutional guarantee of the right to abortion.

The Republican Party “is concerned about its ability to revive young people’s interest in the electoral process”estimates Johanna Blakley, of the University of Southern California.

“Accusing him of being a pawn of the state is a dishonest effort to undermine the artist’s potential future support for Joe Biden”she concludes.