Share this @internewscast.com

Taylor Swift is being targeted again by deepfakes, with supporters of Donald Trump posting manipulated media falsely showing her supporting Trump and engaging in election denialism.

The viral images and clips on X, which have been viewed millions of times, come just over a week after fake nude images of Swift went viral on the platform, putting a spotlight on X’s inability to control the spread of malicious inauthentic media. X briefly blocked searches for “Taylor Swift” after the incident, and it has continued to struggle with controlling the spread of Swift deepfakes.

Some of the deepfakes showing Swift supporting Trump have content labels warning that the media is inauthentic, but many shares of those posts and reposts did not initially have the same labels. Deepfakes are real media that is manipulated, often with the help of artificial intelligence, that tends to target celebrities and high-profile women in particular.

The most prominent pro-Trump deepfake video of Swift uses a recent video of her on the Grammys red carpet, posing for cameras. But the video is edited to show her holding a sign that says “Trump won” and “Democrats cheated!” One post containing the video on X (formerly Twitter) has over 10.3 million views, according to X’s metrics. It has a community note that says that the video is edited and that Swift was not really holding the flag. 

NBC News found 13 other posts containing the fake video. Eight of them did not have community notes or manipulated media labels. One of the unlabeled posts had over 72,000 views as of publication, according to X’s metrics. None of those videos had been removed as of Thursday evening despite appearing to violate X’s policies against manipulated media. Some videos later received labels noting that the posts contained manipulated media.

A representative for X wrote “The team was made aware of this AI-generated video and we took action on almost 100 posts on February 4, 2024, under our Synthetic and Manipulated Media policy. We’re actively monitoring and when posts are found they will also be labeled as manipulated media.”

The manipulated media appeared to originate from a pro-Trump X account that has over 1 million followers and is enrolled in X Premium, which gives the account a blue verification check mark and the ability to make money from ads. Many of the video posts viewed by NBC News have links leading back to that account, which is one way for users to share videos, but while the original post has a manipulated media label, the reposts do not carry the label with them.

The X account that the manipulated media appeared to originate from has also posted numerous other deepfakes on X, some also involving Swift. A post on Monday contained an edited video of Swift’s album of the year acceptance speech at the Grammys, which appeared to use voice-cloning technology to make it sound as though she was saying “Trump won,” “F— Joe Biden” and “Trump 2024 bit—-, let’s go.” That post has over 750,000 views, according to X’s metrics, and it did not contain a manipulated media label or a community note indicating it is fake until after NBC News reached out to X for comment on Wednesday.

X appears to be the primary mainstream social media platform where manipulated media that shows Swift supporting election denialism is circulating. A search for “Taylor Swift Trump” on Instagram surfaced one post containing the video and no content labels or indications that it was fake. According to Instagram’s metrics, the post was viewed more than 6,700 times. 

On Facebook, a search for “Taylor Swift Trump” did not return the fake video, but it did return an AI-generated fake image showing Swift and Trump on a “date” posted in October. Meta, which owns both Instagram and Facebook, put a filter reading “Altered photo/video” with a link to a fact-checking article over the Instagram post after NBC News reached out for comment.

A search for “Taylor Swift Trump” on YouTube showed that the fake video of Swift holding the Trump sign was posted on YouTube 10 times in the past two days and that the video that used the voice clone of Swift was uploaded once. Five of those 11 videos had zero views as of publication. The most-viewed upload, showing Swift holding the fake sign, had 6,800 views as of publication. None of the videos were labeled as manipulated or false media. YouTube did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A search for “Taylor Swift Trump” on TikTok brought up two videos containing the fake Swift edit. One of them had fewer than 1,000 views. Another video had 14,800 views, and the creator responded to comments asking about its authenticity by saying “It’s real” and calling it a “publicity stunt.” Both TikToks were removed after NBC News reached out for comment.

The social media platforms that NBC News found hosting the fake Swift videos without content warnings have all struggled to moderate disinformation — AI-generated and otherwise. For example, a January NBC News investigation found that a dozen YouTube channels had posted fake news about Black celebrities, some of which used AI-altered images in thumbnails and AI text-to-speech technology. 

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
President Trump speaking to the press.

Why Donald Trump Won’t Speak at UK Parliament During State Visit, Unlike Macron

DONALD Trump won’t address parliament on his state visit to the UK…
Ex-Jaguars employee convicted of stealing $22M from team now faces state charges

Former Jaguars Worker Convicted of $22M Theft Now Faces State Charges

Amit Patel, 32, was admitted into the Duval County Jail Tuesday afternoon…
Photo of a man and his granddaughter.

Granddaughter’s Desperate Appeal After Grandfather Disappears Following 8,000-Mile Journey for Her Graduation

A grandfather vanished just a day after undertaking a journey of over…
Trump Drops the Hammer in New Statement on People Who Are Physically Attacking ICE Agents

Trump Issues Strong Response to Attacks on ICE Agents

The violence against ICE agents and other federal immigration law enforcement has…
Michael Bell fights execution amid witness coercion claims

Lawyers for Michael Bell Submit Appeal to Halt Execution at the Supreme Court

Bell is set to be the 8th inmate on death row to…
Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron shaking hands at a press conference.

Concerns Rise Over UK’s Potential Dilemma as France Chooses Which Migrants Are Returned Under New Exchange Deal

FRANCE will have the option to select which migrants to accept under…
Trump calls Butler widow, Secret Service agrees to meeting after call for accountability

Trump Phones Widow of Butler: Secret Service Accepts Meeting Following Demand for Responsibility

The widow of Corey Comperatore, a victim of a shooting at a…
Bin strike war could cost Labour millions as loyal union threatens to withhold funding after suspending Angela Rayner

Garbage Strike Dispute May Cost Labour Party Millions as Key Union Warns of Potential Funding Withdrawal After Angela Rayner Suspension

MILLIONS of pounds in funding to Labour could be in jeopardy as…
Carabinieri at a car accident scene.

Heartbreaking Image Surfaces After Airline CEO’s Wife Allegedly Hits Babysitter, 24; Lawyer Denies Her Fleeing the Scene

Heartbreaking images have surfaced from the devastating crash involving a CEO’s wife,…
Israel Gaza Concentration Camp: Haaretz Calls Out Rafah Camp

Haaretz Criticizes Rafah Camp in Gaza, Referring to It as a “Concentration Camp”

Israel’s defense minister is promoting a plan to herd Gaza’s entire population…
Close-up of Maria Shalaeva.

Putin Official Accused of Using $100M Military Jets to Fly Young Mistress Amid Kremlin Scandal

A SEX scandal has shaken the Kremlin as a high-ranking Putin official…
Hochul defends handling of sexual harassment, toxic workplace complaints against ex-press secretary

Governor Hochul Addresses Allegations of a Hostile Environment and Misconduct by Former Press Secretary

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul is standing by her administration’s response to…