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Online conversations about Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” album in October were disrupted by a coordinated “narrative manipulation” effort that accused the singer of promoting Nazism and MAGA ideology, according to a new report from behavioral intelligence startup GUDEA.
The report noted narratives driven by inauthentic accounts on several platforms, including one that claimed “Taylor Swift is a Nazi,” an accusation that served as a “catalyst for a secondary, authentic conversation” that compared Swift to self-described Nazi and Hitler-loving rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West).
Users who were not engaging in conspiracy theories “nevertheless entered the conversation in response to the fallout created by inauthentic users” to defend the singer and criticize the “irrationality” of such a narrative, according to the report.
“The pattern of inauthentic provocation [to] Authentic user speech is a hallmark of successful narrative manipulation,” the GUDEA report reads.
“It demonstrates how small bursts of coordinated activity can reshape cultural perception by forcing mainstream audiences to respond to extremist framing.”
The report comes months after wild interpretations of Swift’s lyrics and images appeared online, including posts connecting a lightning bolt necklace in her merch store to a Nazi SS symbol.
GUDEA also found a “significant user overlap between accounts pushing Swift’s ‘Nazi’ narrative” and those that are part of a “separate astroturf campaign” attacking Blake Lively, a friend of Swift’s who is involved in a sexual harassment lawsuit against her “It Ends With Us” co-star and director Justin Baldoni.
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Following the album’s release, Swift was accused of racist attacks on her fiancé Travis Kelce’s ex-girlfriend after using the word “savage” in her song “Eldest Daughter.”
Some publications attempted to portray her as Kelce’s “commercial wife” and claimed she promoted white supremacy with the lyric “got the whole block to look like you” in her song “Wi$h Li$t,” even though the line appeared to nod to her desire to start a family with her NFL star fiancé.
Others accused her of embracing far-right ideology.despite his history of supporting Democratic candidates, such as former Vice President Kamala Harris, over the years.
Georgia Paul, director of customer success at GUDEA, speculated to Rolling Stone that narrative drive efforts could serve as a test for “nefarious actors” outside the US.
“[They may] I have reason to think, ‘If I can move the fan base of Taylor Swift, an icon that this political figure is, in a way, does that mean I can do it in other places?’” Paul said.