Trump posts AI-generated images to claim support of Taylor Swift and fans
No evidence that either Taylor Swift or her wider fan community are collectively endorsing his presidential bid.
CLAIM
Former U.S. president Donald Trump shared a series of images appearing to show Taylor Swift fans wearing T-shirts saying ‘Swifties for Trump’, as well as a poster depicting Taylor Swift with text saying ‘TAYLOR WANTS YOU TO VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP’ — implying the pop superstar has endorsed Trump in his re-election bid.
BACKGROUND
Donald Trump posted a series of images to his account on Truth Social — his own social media platform — appearing to imply that popstar Taylor Swift and her fans have lent him their endorsement.
In his caption posted with the images, he wrote: “I accept!”
Taylor Swift has not formally endorsed a candidate in the 2024 election. In 2020, she gave her backing to the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, and she was also critical of Donald Trump while he was in office from 2016 to 2020.
One of the images in Trump’s post says: ‘SWIFTIES TURNING TO TRUMP AFTER ISIS FOILED TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT’. This is in reference to concerts in Vienna that were cancelled due to a terrorism plot in which the authorities believe those accused were planning to target the event.
METHOD
The images posted by Donald Trump are all screenshots from X, formerly known as Twitter.
The first one is a post referring to the foiled terror plot in Vienna, and features images of smiling young women all wearing ‘SWIFTIES FOR TRUMP’ T-shirts. The headline on the images says Taylor Swift’s fans are turning to Trump in the wake of the incident, while the post accompanying the image, posted by @amuse, reads: “SHOCK: After the cancellation of the Taylor Swift concert being targeted by ISIS, Swifties have determined they want a strong leader in the White House. The Swifties For Trump movement is real!”
A small red text box on the image reads ‘SATIRE’. The alt text on the image — an accessibility feature that requires users to take the extra step to click in and read what is on the image — contains the caveat: “SATIRE – There is no Swifties For Trump movement – but there should be.”
The uploader is a large conservative account with close to 400,000 followers, that is endorsing Trump/Vance in its bio. The images of the girls in Trump T-shirts bear the hallmarks of being AI-generated. The account features other AI-generated images, including its profile banner in which Trump is facing a Star Wars Stormtrooper in front of an aquarium.
Another image in the Trump post features the image of Taylor Swift herself, in a stylised poster reminiscent of army recruitment posters of the early 20th Century — such as the famous U.S. Uncle Sam and British Lord Kitchener Wants You posters. This image also bears the characteristics of being obviously AI-generated.
Another image reposted by Donald Trump features a real woman wearing a pro-Trump T-shirt. She is Jenna Piwowarczyk, and has been described in news reports as being the person who started ‘Swifties for Trump’.
Jenna Piwowarczyk is seen in this footage by Wisconsin Right Now — a platform founded by her father, according to Newsweek — explaining how she started the “movement” when a picture of her wearing the shirt went viral.
The post by Donald Trump has drawn widespread criticism from Swift fans online. While there are several vocal Taylor Swift fans endorsing Trump on social media, there is no evidence of a broad movement of Swifties in favour of the former president.
RATING
Several AI-generated images were included in Donald Trump’s post about his Swiftie fanbase, and there is no evidence that either Taylor Swift or her wider fan community are collectively endorsing his presidential bid.
SOURCES
Truth Social. (2024). ‘I accept!’ – Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump). [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024].
Fink, J. (2024). Who Is Jenna Piwowarczyk? Taylor Swift Fan Who Started ‘Swifties for Trump’. [online] Newsweek. [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). #SwiftiesForTrump is trending! Here Jenna Piwowarczyk explains why she started the movement. [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). SHOCK: After the cancellation of the Taylor Swift concert… [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). The left continues COMPLETELY MELTING DOWN… [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). SwiftiesForTrump continue to break the internet! [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). The Kamala campaign is starting to panic now… [Accessed 20 Aug. 2024].