Trump’s AI-Generated Swiftie Support Claim Sparks Disinformation Concerns

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Trump Circulates AI-Created Pictures Suggesting Taylor Swift's Fans Back His Campaign Efforts

Ex-president Donald Trump has disseminated artificial intelligence-created pictures inaccurately suggesting that followers of Taylor Swift are endorsing his political campaign.

On Truth Social, Trump posted images of four X posts, showcasing several young women donning T-shirts emblazoned with “Swifties for Trump” in different designs. One image suggested that Swift’s fans have shifted their support to Trump following the cancellation of her Vienna concert over security issues. Additionally, one of the pictures featured the message “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.”

"Trump confirmed his agreement with a caption on his post, stating, 'I accept!'"

Nonetheless, Trump's message seems to include a blend of authentic and artificial intelligence-created pictures that inaccurately imply a broad and organized campaign of Swifties supporting Trump. Employing a device developed by the nonprofit True Media to identify the proliferation of deepfakes tied to elections, WIRED discovered that several of the pictures Trump distributed exhibit "significant signs of alteration."

Among the images disseminated by Trump was one from an unnamed, pro-Trump profile that boasts over 300,000 followers and frequently uploads images produced by artificial intelligence. After its initial publication regarding Swifties for Trump, this account issued a subsequent statement clarifying that their original post about Swifties for Trump was intended as "satire."

There doesn't seem to be a specific Swifties for Trump effort underway, but a group called Swifties4Kamala is actively supporting Kamala Harris. "We're not speaking for all Swift fans, but there's a reason we don't rely on artificial intelligence to demonstrate our backing for Kamala," says Irene Kim, who helped start Swifties4Harris, in a conversation with WIRED.

At least one Taylor Swift fan openly supports Trump. On Sunday, Trump posted on Truth Social an actual photo of Jenna Piwowarczyk, spotted at a Trump rally in Racine, Wisconsin, in June, sporting a DIY T-shirt that read "Swifties for Trump." Piwowarczyk has since started selling her DIY T-shirts on Etsy.

Trump has regularly posted images created by artificial intelligence. Recently, he inaccurately alleged that the Harris campaign was employing AI technology to exaggerate the number of attendees at her events. Furthermore, during the weekend, Trump shared a fabricated image on X, depicting Harris at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, with a Soviet Union flag superimposed above the audience.

Experts on misinformation have raised alarms over how AI technologies that can generate content pose a risk to the fairness of electoral processes. Throughout this year, WIRED has documented numerous instances globally where AI-generated content has been used in various elections.

Swift has yet to openly support any presidential hopeful, however, she did back President Joe Biden during the 2020 election. Additionally, she has been a vocal critic of Trump, especially after his controversial remark, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts," in the wake of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations for George Floyd in 2020. The renowned pop artist condemned the former president for pretending to have moral high ground while fueling the flames of white supremacy and racism throughout his time in office.

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