Taylor Swift loses 30-40M followers after endorsing Kamala Harris? Fact-checking into viral claim
Taylor Swift's endorsement of Kamala Harris sparked false rumors of losing 30-40 million followers. Fact checks reveal these claims are fabricated.
Rumours are rife that Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris has hit her social media harder than a bad breakup ballad. A viral post claims that the pop star lost between 30 to 40 million followers after backing the Democratic Vice President for the 2024 presidential race. That’s a lot of “Swifties” vanishing from her feed!
This follows a YouGov poll from post debate which suggests the endorsement’s impact may be minimal. Only 8% of respondents indicated that Taylor Swift’s endorsement would make them “somewhat” or “much more likely” to vote for Kamala Harris in the upcoming election. Now, virtual spaces are abuzz with claims that the Cruel Summer singer is losing fan following, but is this claim true?
Is Taylor Swift losing followers after Harris’ endorsement?
No, she is definitely not. While various election polls reflect different values and voter perceptions, Swift’s endorsement adds another layer of impact on her followers, similar to other celebrities. However, it hasn’t affected her own following in any possible way. In fact, an Instagram trend shows she has gained followers in recent days.
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The claim: The buzz started with a social media post lamenting the supposed fallout, with comments suggesting that Swift's political stance might be costing her millions in lost merch sales and monetized posts. The claim, shared on a Facebook page that garnered over 4,300 reactions and 1,700 comments, linked to an article from The Dunning-Kruger Times.
The written piece took a swipe at Swift humorously suggesting she is regretting her "big endorsement" and might be feeling the sting of her political choices.
Fact Check: There's no proof that Taylor Swift really lost a ton of followers after showing her loyalty to Democrats in the September 10 announcement where she signed off as ‘Childless Cat Lady.’ According to Snopes, the rumour originated from a satirical Facebook page called "America - Love It or Leave It," which explicitly describes its content as humorous and not real.
The fact checker further clarified, that The Dunning-Kruger Times, the website where the story gained traction, is also part of this network. The site openly states that everything on it is fictional, with the "About Us" section highlighting that any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. The claim about Swift's follower drop is entirely fabricated, with no real-world evidence to support it.
#unfollowswift trends after Taylor Swift’s Harris’ endorsement
Republicans were quick to express their displeasure after Taylor Swift publicly endorsed Kamala Harris and criticized the use of AI-generated images in Trump’s campaign. Figures like JD Vance, Elon Musk, and even Trump himself voiced their disapproval, but MAGA supporters took things a step further, sparking the viral hashtag #unfollowswift.
False and image-tarnishing rumours soon followed, with a few more claims that Swift had lost $125 million in brand deals and canceled several shows from her Eras Tour due to the endorsement in addition to mentioning ‘Kamala Harris as her role model.’
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A fabricated story claimed that Swift gave Harris a thumbs up, saying, "Kamala Harris is the leader we need. She's my role model and perfect for this country.” But, after running a check we are sure that the 14-time Grammy Winner never for once mentioned the line in her endorsement post.
Taylor Swift gained followers after Harris-Trump debate
According to Instrack analysis, between September 10 and September 18, 2024, Taylor Swift's social media following showed fluctuations rather than a steady decline. After losing 24,443 followers on September 10, shortly after endorsing Kamala Harris, Swift saw a significant recovery. By September 11, she gained 391,975 followers, followed by another 77,955 on September 12. Her follower count continued to rise steadily through mid-September, showing no signs of notable decline.
A tweet from a parody account claimed that Swift had 301 million followers but lost 17 million due to her endorsement of Harris. However, many quickly dismissed these fake claims, pointing out that Swift has not lost followers on X. In fact, since endorsing Harris, she has gained over 44,000 followers on X and reportedly another 2 million on Instagram.