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Analysis finds an online attack was coordinated to suggest Taylor Swift was promoting Nazi and right-wing views in her latest albumThrough bot-like accounts designed to promote so-called leftist criticism of the singer.
Research from AI-powered behavioral intelligence platform Gudiya found that between October 4 – when the 14-time Grammy-winner was released showgirl life —and on October 18, a wave of accounts and posts accused Swift Weaving right-wing references into his music and imagery,
Swift’s use of the word “savage” in her song “Eldest Daughter” was interpreted as racist by these accounts, while symbols such as lightning-bolt necklaces on sale as part of her merchandise were compared to SS insignia.
Gudiya examined more than 24,000 posts and 18,000 accounts across 14 social media platforms and concluded that 3.77 percent of the accounts accounted for 28 percent of Swift’s discussion over this period, namely conspiracy theories about her alleged ties to the MAGA movement, or allegations that she was promoting traditional-wife gender norms and white supremacy.
In the surge that occurred between October 6 and 7, 35 percent of posts in the dataset came from bot-like accounts.
The second occurred on October 13 and 14, when Swift released the Lightning Bolt Necklace (commemorating the song “Oplight”). About 73.9 percent of the total conversation volume was found to be driven by inauthentic accounts and conspiratorial content.
Independent Swift representatives have been contacted for comment.
Gudiya said they also found “a significant user overlap between accounts pushing the Swift ‘Nazi’ narrative and those active in a separate campaign attacking Blake Lively.” gossip Girl the actor is involved in a sexual harassment case against him It End’s With Us co-stars Justin BaldoniHe claimed that they launched a defamation campaign against him on social media.
The platform found that a “cross-event amplification network” disproportionately impacts many celebrity controversies and “injects misinformation into otherwise organic conversations.”
GUDEA founder and CEO Keith Presley explained that the coordinated attack would only gain more attention if Swift’s fans disagreed with the allegations online. rolling stone,
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“That’s part of the goal of these types of stories, whoever is pushing them,” he said. “Especially with these inflammatory people — it’s going to be rewarded by the algorithms. You’ll see influencers jump in first, because it’s going to get them clicks.”
The researchers wrote, “The false story that Swift was using Nazi symbolism did not remain confined to fringe conspiratorial spaces; it successfully pulled specific users into making comparisons between Swift and Kanye West.” “This demonstrates how a strategically planted lie can turn into widespread normative discourse, reshaping public perception, even when the majority of users do not believe the original claim.”
Presley said that 50 percent of the web is now made up of bots. “This is something we have seen increasing on our corporate side – this type of espionage, or working to damage someone’s reputation.”
Georgia Paul, head of customer success for Dolls, told the publication that the research proves that “there may be other nefarious actors, who are not in the US, who have reason to look at, ‘If I can move the fan base for Taylor Swift — an icon who is this political person in a way — does that mean I can do it in other places?'”
independent hAs Swift’s representatives have been contacted for comment.