Taylor Swift performing on her Eras tours in August 2023. Image: Paolo V via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
The singer-songwriter said she is being transparent about her voting plans after AI-generated images of her appearing to endorse Trump spread online.
Donald Trump’s attempt to get the swifties on his side has backfired, as Taylor Swift has publicly endorsed Kamala Harris for the US presidential election.
The power of AI was used last month by presidential candidate Trump to confuse people online, as he shared various AI-generated images on Truth Social of people wearing ‘Swifties for Trump’ t-shirts. There was also one supposed image of Swift herself with the caption “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump”.
In response, Swift stated on her Instagram page that she will be voting for Harris and her VP elect Tim Walz in the 2024 US presidential election. In the post signed “Childless Cat Lady”, Swift explained her reasons for supporting Harris and added that “I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice”.
Look what you made me do
But Swift made it clear that the reason she had shared her political views ahead of the election is in direct response to the AI-generated images shared by Trump.
“Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site,” Swift said. “It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation.
“It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.”
The images Trump shared were originally screenshots posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. The Guardian reported that the accounts that shared these images have a history of sharing misinformation online.
I knew you were trouble
The use of AI during elections is a growing concern, with fears that this technology can be used to spread disinformation, create deepfakes and confuse voters. For example, Elon Musk – now a major supporter of Trump – recently shared a fake campaign video of Harris which used an AI-generated likeness of her voice.
Musk also responded to Swift’s endorsement of Harris, in what might be one of his creepiest posts on X to date.
Swift has been the victim of AI-generated disinformation before. In January, searches for the singer-songwriter were blocked on X after sexually explicit AI-generated images of her likeness began spreading across the platform.
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Taylor Swift performing on her Eras tours in August 2023. Image: Paolo V via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
