Singer Taylor Swift recently endorsed Kamala Harris for president, sparking a flurry of new Democratic voter registrations among her fanbase and no shortage of headlines about the effect of her endorsement. However, her outsized influence has long been something that those in power have tried to leverage, and her photo even appeared in a NATO Psychological Operations lecture.

According to Foundation for Freedom Online Executive Director Mike Benz, “Taylor Swift is NATO’s nuclear weapon for soft power influence.”

He explained how the presenter of the NATO Psychological Operations Center panel discussion on information warfare said that Swift and others of her ilk could be “trained to spread desired messaging about NATO as they had successfully used her and other celebrities for other adjacent priorities around everything from public health to other social issues.”

Given how much NATO would rather see Harris in office than Trump, it is very convenient that Swift is being so vocal in endorsing Harris now. He believes that the effect would have been even stronger had she endorsed Harris from the outset of her nomination and theorizes that the timing may be an attempt to build the illusion that Harris won the debate and that her performance was so compelling that Swift simply couldn’t keep her admiration to herself any longer.

However, he says this election is a different story than the times Swift endorsed Clinton and Biden in the past. People already have strong opinions about the candidates, and while her endorsement may not change anyone’s mind, it could inspire Dems who may have been a bit apathetic about this year’s race to actually turn up on election day. He thinks it may appeal to those who “want to be in good standing with Swiftie Nation to have done their civic duty to have voted for Kamala.”

More than half of American adults are Taylor Swift fans

As ludicrous as this may sound, it’s important to keep in mind that Swift has one of the most dedicated fan bases in the music industry. A Morning Consult survey carried out last year found that more than half of American adults claim to be her fans, with a nearly even split across genders. She raked in $92 million in 2022 alone, and she has 282 million followers on Instagram – all of whom she encouraged to vote on Super Tuesday.

With younger voters considered less likely to vote, this type of mobilization could make a difference in a tight election in states like Arizona and Pennsylvania.

In her post endorsing Harris, she explained: “I’m voting for Kamala Harris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. She is a steady-handed, gifted leader, and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”

She also touched upon issues like LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and abortion rights.

The endorsement prompted Trump to write on his Truth Social platform: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”

In the 24 hours after Swift endorsed Harris in a post that included a link to vote.gov, the voter registration website racked up more than 400,000 visitors. Although no one can say for sure who they plan to vote for, it does seem likely many were registering with Harris in mind.

Ad tech firm Nexxen, meanwhile, found that Swift’s endorsement spurred a 250% rise in engagement around Harris, underscoring just how much power she actually has over the American public.

Sources for this article include:

Technocracy.news

Forbes.com

TheHill.com