While Taylor Swift deserves recognition for various achievements, such as her groundbreaking “Eras Tour” surpassing $1 billion in gross revenue and breaking chart records once held by Elvis Presley, there is a surge of conspiracy theories revolving around the the 34-year-old singer.
With her extensive world tour commitments, rigorous workout routines, the release of a blockbuster concert film, album re-recordings, managing a long-distance relationship, supporting her female friends, playing the role of a cat mom, and attending awards shows, it’s perplexing to imagine she would find time for government conspiracies or writing a spy novel that is allegedly being adapted into a major motion picture. These are just a few of the speculative theories circulating on the internet.
Check out the latest conspiracy theories surrounding Taylor Swift.
Theory: Swift is a Pentagon asset
During Tuesday’s Jesse Watters Primetime, Watters raised the question of how Taylor Swift became one of the world’s most famous figures. Although acknowledging a lack of evidence, he proceeded to suggest that around four years ago, the Pentagon’s psychological operations unit considered turning Taylor Swift into an asset during a NATO meeting. The purpose of this alleged transformation would be to utilize Swift as a psychological operations operative combating online misinformation.
Is Taylor Swift a Pentagon PsyOp asset? pic.twitter.com/yHp8WywKh8
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) January 10, 2024
Watters presented a video clip featuring someone discussing Swift’s influence, claiming that the Pentagon’s psy-op unit pitched the idea to NATO to assist the Biden administration. However, it was later revealed that the video was from a NATO-organized academic conference on misinformation in 2019. The speaker, Alicia Marie Bargar, was not associated with the Pentagon or NATO but was a data engineer at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Bargar clarified that her remarks were taken out of context, as she was using Swift as an incidental example to illustrate a social network analysis concept related to cybersecurity challenges.
Following the controversy, a Pentagon spokesperson addressed the conspiracy theory via Politico, stating, “As for this conspiracy theory, we are going to shake it off,” alluding to a popular hook from one of Taylor Swift’s songs.
Theory: Swift is being used to interfere in the 2024 election
The Fox News narrative wasn’t conjured out of thin air. Following the midterm elections, conservative pundits attributed key losses for Republicans to Taylor Swift.
Although Swift did not explicitly endorse any candidate during this election, the singer, who had publicly supported Biden in 2020, urged her followers to vote. Right-wing figure Jack Posobiec claimed that Swift was “influencing an army of voters,” describing it as “THE CHILDLESS, UNMARRIED ABORTION ARMY MOBILIZED BY BARBIE, TAYLOR SWIFT, AND TIKTOK” that was “CRUSHING REPUBLICANS AT THE BALLOT BOX.”
After Swift was named Time’s 2023 Person of the Year in December, conservative figures continued to assert that she is part of a larger election strategy. Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller asserted that Swift’s stardom “is not organic,” while far-right activist Laura Loomer suggested that Swift is the individual “Democrats are counting on to interfere in the 2024 Presidential election.
Theory: Swift is secretly queer
You might have come across the recent New York Times opinion piece that delved into such speculations, prompting Swift’s team to label it as “invasive, untrue, and inappropriate.” However, Swift’s dedicated fans have been presenting “clues” supporting this theory for years. It’s worth noting that speculating about a celebrity’s sexuality has been a longstanding trend, and perhaps it’s a trend we should reconsider?
A crucial aspect contributing to the various theories surrounding Swift is her penchant for dropping hints for fans to piece together. Could the color of her dress, like the green one she wore, signify something, perhaps a re-release of Reputation (Taylor’s Version), Swift’s use of numerology and her connection of projects and announcements to specific dates (notably, the number 13) adds another layer. Then, of course, there are the Easter eggs embedded in her lyrics and liner notes.
While it’s become an entertaining pastime for many to speculate about the hidden meanings behind Swift’s actions, the notion of her being a Pentagon asset takes it to a completely outlandish level.
