Taylor Swift Was Once Caught in a Fake News Nightmare With Donald Trump: 'Republicans Do It Better'

The 2016 U.S. presidential election was full of surprises, but one of the oddest stories that emerged was an attempt by an alt-right website to spread fake news about Taylor Swift's vote. Swift was and is a hugely popular singer with millions of fans following her every move. But when it came to the 2016 election, Swift kept quiet about her political views. She didn't say who she was voting for. This silence created an opening for rumors and speculation. An alt-right website called Lifeeventweb saw a chance to spread misinformation and published a false article claiming Swift had voted for Donald Trump, according to The Cut.

The fake story had a gripping headline: "Taylor Swift SHOCKS Music Industry: 'I Voted for Trump.'" It tried to make people believe Swift had publicly announced her support for Trump but this was completely made up. The article included a fake quote supposedly from Swift. "We need more and more jobs. Unemployment is way up here. He's hired more employees, more people, than anyone I know in the world," it went, as per Gizmodo. This quote wasn't real, in fact, it had been used before in another fake story about actor Denzel Washington supporting Trump.

The article included other false claims including that Swift's old Myspace page had the quote "Republican's [sic] do it better." But there's no evidence Swift ever wrote this. The article also used a real quote from Swift about voting in 2008, twisting it to seem like it was about the 2016 election.

Despite being clearly false, the story spread quickly on social media. Many people shared it on Facebook, thinking it was true. The website that published the story, Lifeeventweb, is known for producing pro-Trump material. But its simple name and design might fool some people into thinking it's trustworthy. 

Some Trump supporters reportedly celebrated when the fake news came out. On the 4chan website, users even made images of Swift in Nazi uniforms. But in reality, Swift had been very careful not to reveal her political opinions. She did post a photo of herself voting on her socials, encouraging her fans to vote. But she didn't say who exactly it was that she voted for. The spread of this fake story happened at a time when Facebook and Google were facing criticism, as per Vogue. Many people said these companies weren't doing enough to stop the spread of false information online. Some even claimed fake news had influenced the election outcome.

In the end, we still don't know who Swift voted for in 2016. But this incident shows how easily false information can spread. It's worth noting that Trump had previously said he was a fan of Swift's music but this doesn't mean Swift supported him politically. Some criticized Swift for not speaking out. They felt she had a responsibility to use her fame to influence her young fans. Others defended her right to keep her views private.