Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates with Taylor Swift after a 17-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore.
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Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates with Taylor Swift after a 17-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore.
Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Taylor Swift has been rocking the past year with a multibillion-dollar Ella tour and accompanying movie, numerous Grammy nominations, and a high-profile romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. He became one of the most influential cultural figures in the world. A staple of the National Football League season.
But Swift's popularity has been skewed into a threat by far-right pro-Donald Trump conservatives who have begun spreading conspiracy theories about Swift, the Super Bowl, and the 2024 election.
During the Chiefs' conference championship game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, pro-Trump podcast host Mike Crispi of the right-wing Salem Media Group claims the NFL “rigged” the Chiefs' victory. Posted abusive language.
“It's all about spreading Democratic propaganda. Call it now. KC wins, goes to the Super Bowl, Swift appears on the halftime show, 'endorses' Joe Biden with Kelsey in midfield. All of this. was the strategy from day one,” Crispi wrote. X. (This will be the Chiefs' fourth Super Bowl appearance in the past five years.)
After the Chiefs won, there was speculation that Swift's relationship with Kelce was a plot to swing the presidential election in Biden's favor.
“I'm curious to see who wins next month's Super Bowl, and I'm also curious to see if we'll get massive support for the president from artificially culturally supported couples this fall,” said the former Republican president. Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has been promoting a debunked conspiracy theory, saying, “I'm curious about who will win next month's Super Bowl.'' I wrote about the January 6th riot, the 2020 election, and 9/11 on Site X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday.
Unsubstantiated claims have been swirling for some time about Swift's alleged role as a government factory. Last month, Fox News host Jesse Watters speculated that Swift might be used by the Pentagon for “psychological operations,” or psychological operations.
“Is Swift a front for a secret political agenda?” he asked. He pointed to a lack of evidence, but pointed to Swift's support for Biden in 2020 and her recent encouragement of fans to register to vote, which led to a spike in registrations. The Pentagon rejected Watters' claims.
But the Super Bowl clash and contentious presidential election have elevated the right-wing backlash to new heights.a new york times Adding fuel to the fire, reports this week said the Biden campaign expects Swift to support him again this year.
Opinions include prominent right-wing figures such as Jack Posobiec, who promoted the baseless Pizzagate conspiracy theory, and radio host Charlie Kirk. Conservative cable networks have dedicated segments to Swift, with Fox News' Jeanine Pirro urging her to “stay out of it.” I don't want to see you in politics. ”
Focus on monetization
Given that both Swift and football are extremely popular across the political spectrum, the strategy of attacking pop icons as well as cultural institutions like the NFL may seem counterproductive.
But Joan Donovan, an assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies at Boston University who studies online speech, said the job of many figures in the very online pro-Trump world is to attract and monetize attention.
“This is a play for engagement. Given the interest in crossover with Taylor Swift and the NFL, you want to be a part of the conversation online,” Donovan said.
Mentions of Swift on fringe right-wing Internet sites like Trump's Truth Social spiked last week, according to data from Pyra Technologies, which tracks small platforms.
This isn't the first time Swift has been the target of conspiracy theories and right-wing ire.
For years, the singer has avoided politics entirely, but her country music background has led to widespread speculation, without evidence, that she is a Republican and a Trump supporter. In 2016, Vice reported on a white supremacist who claimed Swift was an “Aryan goddess.”
Swift broke her political silence in 2018 to support her Democratic challenger to Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn in her home state of Tennessee, with Swift calling Blackburn “Trump in a wig.” She has openly supported LGBTQ rights and Black Lives Matter, and condemned President Trump during the 2020 protests following the death of George Floyd.
Her evolution from an innocent teenager to a successful, unmarried businesswoman in her 30s was also a break with conservative ideals of femininity, Donovan said.
“On the right, she's not really seen as traditional 'wifely' material because she's older and doesn't have children,” she said. “Broadly speaking, Taylor Swift represents an older, independent woman who doesn't need the support of a man to build her career and determine her own path. ”
More recently, his relationship with Chiefs tight end Kelce has sparked criticism from conservatives. Kelce has also appeared in commercials for the Pfizer vaccine and Bud Light, and has come under attack from conservatives.
attention breeds abuse
The attention focused on Swift doesn't just prompt conspiracy theories. It also leads to abuse, especially the type of abuse that disproportionately targets women online.
Last week, an AI-generated sexually explicit image of Swift went viral on X and other social media sites, racking up tens of millions of views. The incident resurfaced the prevalence of non-consensual deepfake pornography, an issue that has long plagued celebrities as well as ordinary women and girls.
“The whole point of sexist abuse, the point of casting Taylor Swift in this light, is that she's not necessarily a self-actualized person who makes her own decisions…and casting her in this sexual light.” “To put her there is to diminish her and undermine her power,” said Nina Jankowicz, researcher and author of the book. how to be a woman online. “She is just a sex object and a tool of the Biden administration.”
Jankovitz himself has been a victim of conspiracy theories and outright deepfakes. She said she hopes the attention drawn to the recent attacks on Swift will also highlight the harm of this kind of abuse on people who don't have the resources of a global superstar.
