Trump posts image of fake Taylor Swift endorsement

Former President Donald Trump recently shared a fake social media image featuring pop superstar Taylor Swift urging people to vote for him in the November election, Reuters reported.

On Sunday, the Republican candidate posted on Truth Social an image of Swift dressed in red, white, and blue, accompanied by a caption reading, "Taylor Swift Wants You To Vote For Donald Trump."

"I accept!" Trump commented.

Swift has not publicly endorsed any candidate for the 2024 race, though she has previously supported Democrats.

The singer backed President Biden and ran 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. She also criticised Trump in a 2020 documentary.

Spokespeople for Swift and Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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.

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," Public Citizen said.

"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.

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.