The World of Style & Entertainment

[ti-amie]

[ponchi101]

He has become quite funny.
Of course, to us.

[Owendonovan]

So proud.

[ti-amie]

Wild Taylor Swift Conspiracy Theories After Last Album Was Coordinated Effort, Report Claims

By Mary Whitfill Roeloffs,

Forbes Staff.
Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes breaking news reporter covering pop culture.
Dec 10, 2025, 01:59pm EST

A series of bizarre online theories that coincided with the release of "The Life of a Showgirl" and claimed pop star Taylor Swift was a racist white supremist with MAGA connections were actually part of an online effort coordinated by accounts also connected to a campaign against Blake Lively last year, a new report suggests.

Key Facts

A new report from GUDEA, a behavioral intelligence startup that tracks how viral reputation-damaging claims spread online, found the “Taylor Swift is a Nazi” narrative was pushed largely by “small bursts of coordinated activity” from disingenuous accounts meant to engage authentic users—and it worked.

In response to the unsubstantiated theories that Swift was racist, a white supremacist and a secret Trump supporter, Swifties and other members of the mainstream audience jumped into the conversation and made thousands of genuine videos defending Swift, adding context and criticizing the irrationality of the conspiracy theories.

Provoking authentic user discourse is "a hallmark of successful narrative manipulation," the startup’s report says, and a prime example of a "cross-event amplification network" that injects misinformation into otherwise organic conversations, further spreading the lies.

GUDEA’s report, which examined more than 24,000 posts and 18,000 accounts across 14 digital platforms in the two weeks after “Showgirl” released, found that fewer than 4% of accounts drove 28% of the conversation around Swift and the album, and pushed the most inflammatory Swift content.

The inflammatory narratives increased in prevalence in the two weeks following the Oct. 3 release of “Showgirl,” per the report, with posts generated by inauthentic accounts rising from 10% in the first days after the album release to 40% within 10 days.

GUDEA’s report did not theorize as to the identity of the users or group behind the posts.

Key Background

The deluge of videos spread interpretations of Swift's lyrics and album artwork to push the Nazi conspiracy theories. A necklace featuring lightning bolts, for example, was compared to the symbol of the Nazi SS, despite its 12 bolts more likely being a reference to her 12th album. Some said her use of the word "savage" on the song "Eldest Daughter" was racist, and others said she was making a racist reference to her fiance Travis Kelce's ex-girlfriend with the lyric, "Sleepless in the onyx night, but now the sky is opalite." Others claimed she was taking a turn to the far right, despite her longstanding support of Democratic political candidates, and was leaving hints she'd be taking on a "trad wife" role in her relationship with Kelce. Swift disabled comments on her TikTok account as the attacks increased.
Tangent

The GUDEA report found that most conversation around Swift in the studied period could be broken down into nine broader categories and, of those, three were pushed heavily by inauthentic accounts: accusations of Nazism and use of symbolism in the album, allegations of connections to MAGA and politicization of her relationship to Kelce. Four categories were considered to be mildly influenced by inorganic users: comparisons to Kanye West, allegations of cultural appropriation, a perceived celebrity rivalry with Beyoncé and general discussions of Swiftie fan dynamics. Two categories remained stable and free from inorganic influence, the report said: artistic critique of album quality and commentary on ethical wealth.
Surprising Fact

GUDEA’s report also found significant overlap between the accounts active in spreading the Swift theories and in a separate astroturf campaign attacking her friend and actress Blake Lively last summer around the release of her film, “It Ends With Us.” During the press tour, Lively faced online backlash from social media users commenting on everything from her haircare line to how she discussed the film’s central theme of domestic violence. Lively in December sued the film’s director and co-star, Justin Baldoni, in an ongoing lawsuit that claims he coordinated an online smear campaign meant to tarnish her reputation after she complained of inappropriate behavior on set (Baldoni has denied the claims). Of the 107,774 accounts active in bashing Lively and the 18,209 in the Swift dataset, nearly 2,400 were active in both campaigns, GUDEA found.
Crucial Quote

“This reinforces a significant lesson: Narrative ecosystems are interconnected,” the report said. “Users who escalate one controversy often reappear in others… Narratives do not exist in isolation.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroelof ... rt-claims/

[ponchi101]

How ridiculous. Everybody knows that Taylor is not a cult member. She is cult leader.

[ti-amie]

If you can enlarge the picture to see the injection marks for the lip fillers she's using. I had to do that but once I saw them I can't unsee them.

Also she's 28 years old.

I haven't seen an explanation for the orange on her nose.

[ti-amie]

‪Amee Vanderpool‬
‪@girlsreallyrule.bsky.social‬
· 1h
"Federal law established the Center as a memorial to President Kennedy and prohibits changing its name without Congressional action."