The latest Taylor Swift conspiracy theory has nothing to do with a cryptic new novel or unproven speculation she’s secretly queer — and it’s certainly not being floated by Swifties.
As a recent offering from conservatives goes, Swift is part of a psyop, or a psychological operation, that’s being used by the Pentagon to convince her followers to support Democrats. Yes, you read that right. That idea, which has been floated by Fox News anchor Jesse Watters (who himself said he had no evidence for it), has started to gain traction on the right as Swift has gotten more media coverage related to her appearances at NFL games. The conservative furor around this theory — as well as similar ideas suggesting that she and boyfriend Travis Kelce, a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, are Democratic plants — has only intensified after the Chiefs made it to the Super Bowl Sunday night.
“I wonder who’s going to win the Super Bowl next month,” former presidential candidate and noted conspiracy theorist Vivek Ramaswamy mused on X on Monday. “And I wonder if there’s a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall.”
These theories are a recent manifestation of an emerging conservative backlash and obsession with Swift fueled in part by political views she’s expressed, but more broadly by fear and misogyny in the right-wing manosphere. They mark the latest example of conservatives going after a female star they perceive as a threat, and they underscore how frustrated Republicans are that Swift — and many of the young women who make up her fan base — aren’t on their side.
The right-wing conspiracy theories around Taylor Swift, briefly explained
The conservative conspiracy theories about Swift center heavily on her acting as a tool of the Pentagon and of Democrats in order to boost Biden’s reelection chances. Like many conspiracy theories, these ideas hinge on the smallest grain of truth,…
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