Trump posts photo with fake Taylor Swift endorsement

A post by the Republican candidate on Truth Social on Sunday showed Swift wearing a red, white and blue outfit with the caption, “Taylor Swift wants you to vote for Donald Trump.” “I do!” Trump wrote. There has been no statement from Swift or those around her so far.

US presidential candidate Donald Trump has been using fake images to attract votes from fans of pop star Taylor Swift. On Sunday (local time), the former president shared, among other things, a fake poster on the Truth Social online service in which the singer called on her followers to vote for Trump. No statement has been issued by Swift or those around her so far.

A post by the Republican candidate on Truth Social on Sunday showed Swift wearing a red, white and blue outfit with the caption, “Taylor Swift wants you to vote for Donald Trump.” “I do!” Trump wrote. Other clearly doctored images showed women wearing T-shirts that read “Swifties for Trump.”

According to experts, some of the images were created using artificial intelligence (AI). Hany Farid, a digital forensics expert at the University of California, Berkeley, told AFP that the singer’s poster was either “generated by AI or classically manipulated.” He added that Trump’s post was “particularly deceptive” because at least one of the fan photos actually looked real.

Swift endorsed Biden and Harris in 2020.

Swift herself has not yet publicly endorsed Donald Trump or Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. But she has repeatedly criticized Trump in the past, and before the 2020 presidential election she campaigned for incumbent President Joe Biden. She also supports abortion rights and LGBTQ rights, where LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer.

Harris is set to be formally nominated as a 2024 candidate at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week. Swift also criticized Trump in a 2020 documentary. While the singer has yet to make a public statement, tens of thousands of her fans have already spoken out in support of the Democratic candidate. The “Swifties for Kamala” page has tens of thousands of followers on online services such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Similar “Swifties for Trump” pages exist — though their follower numbers are much smaller.

Swift cancelled three concerts in Vienna this month after authorities said they had foiled a planned attack. Local officials have arrested a 19-year-old man said to be inspired by Islamic State. (APA/Reuters)