Jesse Watters Spreads Fake Conspiracy on TV About Pentagon's 'Plan' to Turn Taylor Swift into a PsyOp

In the realm of strange and never-heard-before conspiracy theories, Fox News host Jesse Watters recently sparked controversy by indicating a peculiar connection between Taylor Swift and a hypothetical Pentagon psychological operation. However, detailed research revealed this news story was a mixture of misinformation and misinterpretation, turning a normal discussion into a distorted narrative, as per The Daily Beast.

During a segment on Jesse Watters Primetime, he raised questions about Swift’s rise to fame, “I like her music, she’s all right, but I mean, have you ever wondered why or how she blew up like this?” Watters shared a 2019 video clip featuring a woman named Alicia Marie Bargar giving a presentation at the International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CYCON), organized by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence (CCD COE). Watters made a not-so-hypothetical claim, asserting, “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.”

In the 2019 video clip, Bargar was seen discussing the potential use of influencers, citing Swift as an example due to her massive fan base. “You came in here wanting to understand how you just go out and counter the information operation. The idea is that social influence can help—can help encourage or promote behavior change… So, potentially as a peaceful information operation... I include Taylor Swift here because she’s, you know, a fairly influential online person. I don’t know if you’ve heard of her.”

Watters then confidently claimed, "Yeah, that’s real: the Pentagon psyop unit pitched NATO on turning Taylor Swift into an asset for combating misinformation online." Surprisingly, thorough research reveals that Bargar is a research engineer in applied physics at Johns Hopkins University, not a Pentagon official. Also, none of the speakers in the CYCON presentation had any relation to the Department of Defense or the U.S. government.

However, as per a Mediaite report, the origin of this misleading information can be traced back to a snippet shared on X (formerly Twitter) by former State Department official Mike Benz. The tweet said, “Watch the incredible moment that a rep from the Pentagon’s psychological operations research firm pitched NATO’s military psyops center on turning Taylor Swift into an asset for the Western military alliance to stop “disinformation” on the Internet.” This misleading conspiracy theory grabbed the attention of Trump allies, with false claims that Swift’s rise was orchestrated as a 'girl boss psyop.' One must remember that the false claims were circulated without proper clarification, highlighting the significance of responsible journalism and fact-checking on prominent news platforms.

In an era dominated by misinformation, viewers must exercise critical thinking when confronted with sensational claims, especially when influential figures like Swift unwittingly find themselves entangled in baseless conspiracy theories. The episode is a stark reminder of the need for accurate reporting to prevent the propagation of unfounded narratives.