The Pentagon issued a response Wednesday after Fox News host Jesse Watters suggested that iconic pop singer Taylor Swift could serve as a “front for a covert political agenda.”
During Tuesday’s episode of Jesse Watters Primetime, the Fox News host suggested that “around four years ago, the Pentagon’s psychological operations unit floated turning Taylor Swift into an asset.”
After showing a clip from a NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence conference from 2019 that featured the presenter mentioning Swift as an example of a social media influencer, Watters told viewers, “That’s real. The Pentagon psy-op unit pitched NATO on turning Taylor Swift into an asset for combating misinformation online.”
Alluding to a recent partnership between Vote.org and the pop star, which is designed to increase voter turnout among young Americans, Watters added, “I wonder who got to her from the White House or wherever. Who makes that initial handshake?”
In response to the Fox News host’s theory concerning Swift’s alleged connection with the government, Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokesperson, told Politico, “As for this conspiracy theory, we are going to ‘shake it off.'”
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Using Swift’s song lyrics as a reference point, the Pentagon spokeswoman added, “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.” According to Politico, Singh urged Congress to approve the Biden administration’s supplemental budget request, using another one of Swift’s song titles, “I Wish You Would.”
Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey also released a statement on social media clarifying the organization’s partnership with Swift. Hailey claimed that the organization’s partnership with Swift is meant to ensure that “all Americans make their voices heard at the ballot box.”
“Not a psy-op or a Pentagon asset,” the Vote.org CEO added. “Just the biggest nonpartisan platform in America helping young people register & cast their vote.”
