The singer cited AI-generated deepfakes of her that suggested she endorsed Donald Trump.
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Taylor Swift said on Tuesday that she plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in November’s presidential election — and that AI-generated images circulating of herself pushed her in part to make her support public.
“Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post. “It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.”
Her post references an incident in late August, in which Trump shared a collection of images to Truth Social intended to show support for his presidential campaign. Some of the photos depict “Swifties for Trump,” and another obviously AI-generated image shows Swift herself in an Uncle Sam-type image with text reading, “Taylor wants YOU to vote for Donald Trump.” The former president captioned the post, “I accept!”
In her endorsement post, Swift also mentioned LGBTQ rights, reproductive care, and IVF as specific issues she cares about. She also directed fans to her Instagram story, where she added a link to register to vote.
The potential for abuse of AI tools in the lead up to the US presidential election has been a lingering concern as generative AI has become widely available. In January, before Harris ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket, some voters in New Hampshire got a fake AI-generated robocall that sounded like Joe Biden. The call — which discouraged people from voting in the state’s upcoming primary election — went to more than 20,000 people, according to CNN.
Some AI companies have increased restrictions on tools in an effort to cut down on elections-related misinformation. Google, for example, recently announced it would limit election queries in AI Overviews, the company’s AI-generated search results feature.
This wasn’t the first time AI images of Swift were circulated on social media. Earlier this year, nonconsensual sexualized images of her made using AI were shared on X. That incident prompted the White House to call for legislation to “deal” with the issue.
