Did Pop Icon Taylor Swift Lose More Than 100 Million Followers After Her Endorsement Of Kamala Harris? Fact Checking The Viral Rumor
A rumour making the rounds on the internet is that pop icon Taylor Swift lost more than 100 million followers after her endorsement of Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party presidential candidate.
The rumours first emerged after a Facebook post by SpaceX Fanclub on September 12, 2024.
Did Taylor Swift Really Lose Over 100 Million Followers After Endorsing Kamala Harris?
The post, which featured a collage of Vice President Kamala Harris, contained the following message:
“Taylor Swift loses more than 100 million followers on Instagram after Harris Endorsement.”
However, soon the truth of the alleged rumour was laid bare when it became clear that it was fake news.
The post, which had gone viral, also contained a line that made the whole story clear:
“It was Tay Tay’s biggest mistake – This is satire.”
Delving deeper into the SpaceX Fanclub bio on Facebook revealed that the site posts only satire, and nothing on the page is real.
For those who are unversed, Taylor Swift had endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the forthcoming US Presidential elections in November.
Taylor wrote that she would vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the forthcoming elections, and she made the choice after doing her research.
Taylor’s endorsement of Kamala Harris’ candidacy for the Presidential race has also ignited a debate on whether celebrity endorsements impact elections.
Opinions are divided, with some experts claiming that voters are not influenced by such endorsements, while others contend that there is an uptick after celebrities give an endorsement of a particular candidate.
A study by a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization revealed that more than 35,000 voters registered after a post by Swift in September 2023, where she urged her followers to register as voters on Vote.org.
In the past, celebrities often directed fans to register as voters. For example, in 2020, YouTube vlogger David Dobrik and in 2022, model and socialite Hailey Bieber ran online campaigns asking their fans to verify their voter registration status.
Richard T. Longoria, an associate professor of US government and politics at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, said:
“A celebrity endorsement won’t impact voters who already have strong partisan allegiances, and most voters are in this category.”
However, the most visible effect of a celebrity endorsement can be seen in 2007 when Democrat Barack Obama announced his presidential bid for the 2008 election, and he received the backing of the most influential television host Oprah Winfrey. Obama was pitched against fellow Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic Party Presidential nomination.
Not only did the higher voter turnout help Obama win, but Oprah’s endorsement also helped him secure more funds for his campaign. A study by economists Craig Garthwaite of Northwestern University and Timothy J. Moore from the University of Maryland revealed that Oprah’s endorsement resulted in about one million additional votes for Obama.
Also Read: Who Won The Donald Trump vs Kamala Harris Presidential Debate?
