LOS ANGELES — Former 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 Ms. Swift dressed in red, white and blue with a caption that said “Taylor Swift Wants You To Vote For Donald Trump.”
“I accept!” Mr. Trump wrote.
Ms. Swift has not publicly endorsed a candidate in the 2024 race but has supported Democrats in the past.
The singer backed President Joseph R. Biden and running mate Kamala Harris in 2020. Ms. Harris is set to be formally nominated as the 2024 Democratic candidate at the party’s national convention in Chicago this week. Ms. Swift also criticized Mr. Trump in a 2020 documentary.
A spokesperson for Ms. Swift did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. 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.
Ms. Swift canceled 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 Mr. Trump appeared to be deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
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.
Mr. Trump’s post was “yet another example of AI’s power to create misinformation,” consumer group Public Citizen said.
“The potential harm to our society that could result from such misinformation, including abuses of our elections, are wide-reaching and immensely damaging,” the group added. — Reuters
