Former US President Donald Trump has posted a fake social media image of pop superstar Taylor Swift asking people to vote for him in the November election. A Sunday entry by the Republican candidate on Truth Social showed Swift dressed in red, white and blue with a caption that said "Taylor Swift Wants You To Vote For Donald Trump." "I accept!" Trump wrote.

Donald falsely claims Taylor's support

Swift has not publicly endorsed a candidate in the 2024 race, but has supported Democrats in the past. The singer backed US President Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris in 2020. Harris is set to be formally nominated as the 2024 Democratic candidate at the party's national convention in Chicago this week. Swift also criticised Trump in a 2020 documentary.

Trump also posted photos of young women wearing "Swifties for Trump" shirts, and a satirical article with the headline "Swifties Turning to Trump After ISIS Foiled Taylor Swift Concert." The article was marked "SATIRE" above the headline.

Swift cancelled three shows in Vienna this month after authorities said they had foiled a planned attack. Local officials arrested a 19-year-old man who they said was inspired by Islamic State.

"Swifties for Trump is a massive movement that grows bigger every single day," Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement when asked for comment about the fake Swift image.

Several Swift fans and watchdog groups said many of the images posted by Trump appeared to be deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence.

Advocates in the music industry, Hollywood and Washington have been pushing for federal legislation and other measures to fight the explosion of fake AI images online.

Trump's post was "yet another example of AI's power to create misinformation," consumer group Public Citizen said, as per Reuters. "The potential harms to our society that could result from such misinformation, including abuses of our elections, are wide-reaching and immensely damaging," the group added.

Taylor's political leanings

At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Swift fan Rebecca Goff handed out friendship bracelets, a common practice among the singer's fans, at a Nevada Democratic Party breakfast.

Goff, 39, said she felt Trump was the antithesis of what she believes Swift stands for, including celebrating girlhood and womanhood. "That's like the antithesis of what Trump and the GOP are trying to do, especially to women. They're trying to make us smaller. They want us to go back to being just housewives, child bearers," Goff said.

There was no immediate comment from Swift about the post by Trump, who separately shared on Truth Social a video of a supporter voicing the dubious claim that “Swifties were rallying for Trump.” Trump's post also drew online mockery and scorn from the singer's fans, some of whom called on her to take legal action against the former president.

Both Republicans and Democrats have long wanted her support, but the megastar has been largely reticent about her political leanings.

In a demonstration of her star power, when Swift encouraged her fans to register to vote last fall, directing them to the nonpartisan non-profit Vote.org, her plea had an immediate impact. Following her message, the institution said it recorded more than 35,000 new registrations, 23 percent more than last year and the most since 2020.

Swift's feelers into politics have been heavily scrutinised, making her a ripe target for political misinformation and right-wing conspiracy theories. Her reserve led many critics to speculate Swift was a closet Republican, until 2018, when she broke both her silence and the internet by endorsing the Democratic opponent of far-right US Senator Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee. She has since spoken out in particular for the legal right to an abortion and LGBTQ rights.

In recent weeks, intense speculation has swirled on social media that Swift will endorse Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the November election. The megastar has not commented publicly, but that has not stopped legions of fans from forming a group called "Swifties for Kamala," attracting tens of thousands of followers on platforms including Instagram and X.