"Swift supports me? I'll accept it"… Trump rejoices after posting fake photo

Former President Trump, Controversy Over SNS Photo
Fake Photo Claiming Swift's Support
Swift Has Not Yet Expressed Presidential Election Endorsement

Donald Trump, the former U.S. president and Republican presidential candidate, is facing criticism for posting a manipulated ‘fake photo’ on social media (SNS) that makes it appear as if pop star Taylor Swift supports him. On the 19th (local time), the American internet media HuffPost reported, "The former president posted an image on 'Truth Social' the day before, showing Taylor Swift and Swifties (Swift's fans) with a message indicating their support for him, along with the caption 'I accept!'" Truth Social is an SNS operated by TMTG, which was founded by Trump himself in 2021.

Photos posted on social media by former President Donald Trump "accepting" Taylor Swift's support. [Image source=Truth Social capture]

Among the four photos posted by former President Trump, the one containing the phrase "Taylor wants you to vote for Trump" is a parody of the famous American character ‘Uncle Sam’ recruitment poster and was created by artificial intelligence (AI). Additionally, the photos of Swift’s fans supporting Trump were all either manipulated or intended as satire. This has sparked criticism that using AI-generated images in elections is inappropriate.

Global pop star Swift publicly supported President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2020 presidential election. However, she has not officially expressed support for any candidate in this year’s election. While the Democratic Party is hoping for support from Swift and her fans, earlier this month, a concert photo posted on Swift’s SNS account included a shadow silhouette resembling Vice President Harris, causing some misunderstanding. There were speculations that a declaration of support for Harris was imminent, but it turned out to be a simple ‘back singer’ (backup vocalist) incident.

Former President Trump has also publicly mentioned Swift. In February, during his clash with President Biden, he posted on his SNS, “During my term, I signed the ‘Music Modernization Act’ for Swift and all other music artists,” and claimed, “(Swift) would never betray the man who made her a lot of money by supporting ‘Dishonest Joe Biden,’ the worst and most corrupt president in our country’s history.”