Pentagon debunks Fox News host’s Taylor Swift conspiracy theory: 'We're going to shake it off'

11 January 2024

During a Tuesday night, January 9 broadcast, Fox News host Jesse Watters promoted the far-right conspiracy theory that Taylor Swift is part of a "Pentagon psyop." And the U.S. Department of Defense is pushing back against that claim.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh, humorously referencing some of the billionaire pop singer's major hits, told Politico, "As for this conspiracy theory, we are going to shake it off…. But that does highlight that we still need Congress to approve our supplemental budget request as Swift-ly as possible so we can be out of the woods with potential fiscal concerns."

Watters wasn't the first person on the far right to push conspiracy theories involving Swift; others have included former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller and Jack Posobiec, who claimed that Taylor's "girlboss psyop has been fully activated."

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Watters told Fox News viewers, "Have you ever wondered why or how she blew up like this? 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 psy-op for combatting online misinformation."

The Hill's Nick Robertson notes that Watters, on his show, referenced Swift's alliance with Vote.org.

On X, formerly Twitter, Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey posted video of Watters' segment on Swift and posted, "Our partnership with @taylorswift13 is helping all Americans make their voices heard at the ballot box. Not a psy-op or a Pentagon asset. Just the biggest nonpartisan platform in America helping young people register & cast their vote."

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