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- What impact will the Taylor Swift endorsement have? (newsbreak.com)
**Taylor Swift Backs Kamala Harris for President, Drives Massive Voter Engagement**
**ELMONT, NY** – At the MTV Video Music Awards held on September 11, 2024, Taylor Swift’s appearance drew considerable media attention. But it’s her recent political endorsement that’s making waves.
Swift took to Instagram to endorse Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, a move that garnered over 10 million likes and demonstrated the star’s substantial influence.
Celebrity endorsements often aim to increase enthusiasm, translating into higher voter turnouts, more volunteers, and a boost in donations. Swift’s backing of Harris is certainly stirring excitement among her fans.
This endorsement wasn’t just about showing support for Harris. Swift also addressed misinformation circulating via AI-created images falsely suggesting she supported former President Donald Trump. “The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth,” she stated in her post.
Megan Duncan, an associate journalism professor at Virginia Tech, commented that Swift is likely aware that her followers might not be frequent voters. “Taylor Swift’s fanbase is likely part of a less engaged voting demographic,” Duncan explained.
Since wading into political discussions in 2018, Swift has annually encouraged her followers to register to vote.
Despite her post going live at 11 p.m. exclusively on Instagram, the General Services Administration reported that her call to action, linking to vote.gov, drove nearly 406,000 visits to the website. Additionally, data analytics company TargetSmart observed a spike in people checking their voter registration status.
“She understands the importance of first-time voters and provided relevant information about voter registration and early voting,” said Duncan.
Even if Swift remains quiet on political matters until the election, experts believe her endorsement will persist in voters’ minds. Duncan points out that Swift’s ongoing presence in the public eye—whether at NFL games or other events—will sustain the conversation around her political support.
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- What impact will the Taylor Swift endorsement have? (newsbreak.com)