Viral images of Taylor Swift wearing anti-Trump t-shirt are digitally altered

What's the claim?

Two images of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift have been shared on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), purporting to show her wearing a t-shirt that reads "NOPE not again" with a red tie and golden hair design, referencing Donald Trump and his bid for the United States presidency (archives here, here, here, and here).

Posts shared on X claiming Swift wore an anti-Trump t-shirt. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Swift, named Time's Person of the Year 2023, is thought to have a significant impact on the U.S. elections. According to USA Today, on September 19, 2023, over 35,000 people registered to vote during National Voter Registration Day after she posted an Instagram story urging her followers to do so on Vote.org. California Governor Gavin Newsom also believes Swift will significantly impact the elections, according to a report by The Independent. 

We found that these images are digitally altered. The original images do not show Swift wearing an anti-Trump t-shirt.

What we found

Using reverse image search, we found the hairstyle and accessories, like the headband and earrings worn by Swift in the viral image, matched images from the Time 100 Gala held on April 23, 2019, in New York. We found the original version of Swift's photo from the night on Getty Images captured by Taylor Hill for FilmMagic, a digital photo agency.

Comparison of the viral image and the actual image (Source: X, Getty Images/Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

In this image, the background has been completely replaced, and longer hair has been edited onto Swift's right shoulder, in addition to the anti-Trump t-shirt. A blurry patch just below Swift's left ear in the viral photo is more evidence of digital manipulation.

Comparison of the viral image and the actual image (Source: X, Getty Images/Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

We found the original version of the other image on Getty Images, also captured by Taylor Hill for FilmMagic. Here, too, the background has been completely replaced in addition to the t-shirt. Signs of the digital alteration can be seen in blurry patches below her ears.

Both these images are from the event where Swift wore a pink and yellow dress.

Swift previously spoke out against former president Trump on her X account, saying, "We will vote you out in November" in May 2020. However, we found no credible sources reporting that Swift was seen wearing such a t-shirt. She also endorsed President Joe Biden, who ran against Trump successfully in 2020.

Logically Facts has previously fact-checked similar fake images of celebrities like Dwayne Johnson and Tom Hanks purportedly wearing anti-Trump clothing. 

The United States Presidential Election will be held on November 5, 2024. Incumbent President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are expected to win the primaries to become the candidates for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively, which could lead to a rematch of the 2020 elections. 

 The verdict

We marked the images as fake as we located the original images used in the digital alteration and found evidence of digital alteration in the photos.