Fox News has aired a bizarre conspiracy theory that Taylor Swift’s meteoric rise is a government “psyop” to win the election for Joe Biden.
Former Trump administration officials and other far-right figures have long speculated about the pop megastar for her politics and popularity.
But in recent days they have rediscovered a 2019 NATO conference presentation on countering disinformation that they believe is evidence.
Swift was only mentioned in passing as an example of an influencer big enough for the government to partner with in promoting a particular message.
Jesse Watters took the conspiracy theory mainstream on Tuesday night, despite admitting he ‘clearly has no evidence’.
Taylor Swift was mentioned in passing at the International Conference on Cyber Conflict conference as an example of an influencer big enough for the government to work with in countering online disinformation
“Have you ever wondered why or how she blew up like that?” he asked, implying that the government arranged for Swift to become the biggest celebrity of 2023 so she could be used as a covert operative for the Democratic Party.
“Well, about four years ago, the Pentagon’s psychological operations unit came up with the idea of making Taylor Swift an asset at a NATO meeting.
‘What kind of property? A psyop for combating online disinformation.
‘Yes, that’s real. The Pentagon’s psyop unit pushed NATO to turn Taylor Swift into an asset.”
Watters ended his story by admitting that he “clearly has no evidence” that Swift was “a front for a secret political agenda.”
“If we did, we would share it… but we’re curious because the pop star who endorsed Biden is urging millions of her followers to vote,” he said.
However, Watters’ characterization of the presentation was not accurate, as Swift was discussed for only a few seconds in a 90-minute presentation.
The speech also wasn’t from a “Pentagon psyop unit,” but from Alicia Marie Bargar, a then-research engineer at Johns Hopkins University who now works at Shopify.
Her presentation at the International Conference on Cyber Conflict conference in August 2019 was titled ‘Challenges and Opportunities to Counter Information Operations Through Social Network Analysis and Theory’.
Host Alicia Marie Bargar illustrated her point with this photo of Swift encouraging her millions of fans to vote on Election Day in 2016 — and not even saying who to vote for
Bargar discusses her research into how misinformation spreads online, from ISIS to health conspiracies, and different ways to identify and counter it.
“The first, and the most common (example of influence), is collaborating with famous people or influencers to share information about a certain message,” she said.
“I’m including Taylor Swift here because she’s quite an influential person online. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of her.’
Bargar illustrated her point with a photo of Swift encouraging her millions of fans to vote on Election Day 2016 — without even saying who to vote for.
“Celebrities, at least in the US, regularly post photos of themselves encouraging people to vote and this has a measurable effect on turnout,” she said.
However, she noted that the risk with this approach was that the celebrity may not want to share what you want, or may want to make the misinformation worse through clumsy delivery.
The presentation then turned to other ways to combat disinformation, such as working with certain communities.
Watters enlisted former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan to support the conspiracy theory that Swift was secretly working for the Biden campaign.
Jesse Watters took the conspiracy theory mainstream on Tuesday night, despite admitting he ‘clearly has no evidence’
Kaplan said the president’s PR team would do well to reach out to a celebrity like Swift, who shared their values and had a legion of fans.
The celebrity could then be prompted to make “public announcements” that, he said, were “analogous to the old days of deploying a psyop.”
“In the modern age, when these people have such influence and an immeasurable following, she can potentially single-handedly influence voters… so the answer is yes, Jesse,” he said.
“It’s possible that Taylor Swift doesn’t realize she’s being used in a covert way to deceive voters.”
The arrangement Kaplan described was identical to advertising deals that brands from Apple to Nescafe strike with celebrities every day.
Watters pointed out that thousands of young people had registered to vote after Swift encouraged them, and asked, “I wonder who got her?”
Swift has long been targeted by former Trump administration officials and other far-right figures as someone they believe is secretly working with Democrats.
“The Taylor Swift girl boss psyop is fully activated,” one person wrote after the singer was named Time’s Person of the Year last month.
“From her hand-picked vaccine shill boyfriend to her DINK lifestyle to her upcoming 2024 Democratic voter campaign on abortion rights. It’s all coming.’
“The Taylor Swift girlboss psyop is fully activated,” one person wrote after the singer was named Time’s Person of the Year last month
After watching the video of the NATO conference on Tuesday, Jeff Clark, assistant attorney general in the Trump White House, declared that ‘Taylor Swift is a Trojan horse’
Another former Trump official, ex-senior adviser Stephen Miller, emphasized that “what’s happening with Taylor Swift is not organic.”
Jeff Clark, assistant attorney general in the Trump White House, shared this message approvingly.
“This is what happens when we cede culture to the left. Brainless young people who raise themselves on the sweet music of Taylor Swift and which flows into the serious world of politics,” he added on December 6.
Clark compared a hypothetical Dwayne Johnson and Taylor Swift presidential ticket to the plot of the 2006 satirical film Idiocracy, in which the future society is so poorly conveyed that an average 20th century person is considered a genius.
After watching the video from the NATO conference on Tuesday, Clark declared that “Taylor Swift is a Trojan Horse.”
Another former Trump official, ex-senior adviser Stephen Miller, emphasized that “what’s happening with Taylor Swift is not organic.”
An alt-right Twitter account regularly shared by Elon Musk also speculated that Swift would be used by Democrats to garner votes for Biden.
“Taylor Swift has a cult-like following that would drink poisoned Kool Aid for her,” it wrote.
‘The next step? Politics. If you think the regime has no plans to arm it just in time for 2024, then you clearly haven’t been paying attention.”