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The Pentagon has slammed Fox News host Jesse Watters after he stated Taylor Swift could possibly be a “psy-op” for the US authorities.
During Tuesday’s Jesse Watters Primetime, the Fox News host performed a video that he falsely claimed confirmed a Department of Defense official suggesting Taylor Swift was a Pentagon psy-op for combating misinformation.
“I like her music,” Mr Watters started the section by saying. “She’s all right, but I mean, have you ever wondered why or how she blew up like this?” he requested.
“Well, around four years ago, the Pentagon psychological operations unit floated turning Taylor Swift into an asset during a Nato meeting. What kind of asset? A PsyOp for combating online misinformation.”
He then went on to indicate a video of what he claimed was a feminine Defense Department official giving a presentation on stage to Nato officers in 2019.
“You came in here wanting to understand how you just go out and counter the information operation,” the girl could possibly be heard saying within the video.
“The idea is that social influence can help– can help encourage or promote behavior change… So, potentially as like a peaceful information operation… I include Taylor Swift in here because she’s– she’s, you know, a fairly influential online person. I don’t know if you’ve heard of her.”
After taking part in the clip ended, Mr Watters informed viewers: “Yeah, that’s real. Pentagon’s PsyOp unit pitched Nato on turning Taylor Swift into an asset.”
But on Wednesday, the Pentagon shut down Mr Watters’ declare.
“As for this conspiracy theory, we are going to shake it off,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh stated in a press release to Politico, referencing one in every of Swift’s greatest hits.
“But that does highlight that we still need Congress to approve our supplemental budget request as Swift-ly as possible so we can be out of the woods with potential fiscal concerns,” Ms Singh added.
Fox News has been accused of pushing a conspiracy theory that Taylor Swift could possibly be utilized in a authorities psy-op
(Fox News)
The girl giving the presentation within the video proven by Mr Watters was not a Pentagon worker.
Her identify is Alicia Marie Bargar, a analysis engineer in utilized physics at Johns Hopkins University who has no recognized contracts with or relationship to the US navy.
In the video, Ms Bargar was presenting analysis she had carried out together with her staff at Johns Hopkins University about how info spreads on-line.
During the presentation, she mentioned hypothetical eventualities for the way info may be manipulated, utilizing Taylor Swift for instance, owing to her standing as doubtlessly essentially the most well-known pop star on this planet.
The video proven by Mr Watters on his present was additionally closely edited and was solely a three-minute section of the complete presentation. In a section of the presentation not included on his present, Ms Bargar defined that Swift had used her platform to tangibly affect voter turnout.
She confirmed a screenshot from an Instagram publish the place Swift confirmed herself ready in line to vote again in 2016 – a publish that was credited with rising voter turnout amongst younger folks.
“Celebrities, at least in the US, regularly will post pictures of themselves with an encouragement for people to go vote and this has a measurable affect on voter turnout,” Ms Bargar stated.
Vote.org chief Andrea Hailey, who Swift has beforehand partnered with to encourage younger folks to register to vote, additionally responded to Mr Watters’ accusations.
“Not a psy-op or a Pentagon asset,” she wrote on X. “Just the biggest nonpartisan platform in America helping young people register & cast their vote.”
In a 2016 Instgram publish, Swift confirmed herself ready in line to vote
(Taylor Swift/Instagram)
Swift has lengthy been accused by comparatively fringe parts, together with the X account often known as End Wokeness, to be a psy-op, with the conspiracy theory gaining extra prominence afterTime journal named Swift as 2023 individual of the 12 months.
“Taylor Swift has a cult-like following that would drink poisoned Kool Aid for her. The media knows this and is feeding it,” End Wokeness tweeted round a month in the past.
“Music. Entertainment. Sports. Now they crowned her Person of the Year. The next step? Politics. If you don’t think the regime has plans to weaponize her just in time for 2024, you clearly have not been paying attention,” the account added.
Elon Musk, the proprietor of X, has regularly engaged with the account’s content material.
Former Trump administration officers, together with former senior adviser Stephen Miller, have additionally pushed the conspiracy theory.
“What’s happening with Taylor Swift is not organic,” Mr Miller tweeted in December.
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