Media Takes Aim at Swift With Odd Psyop Reference

(NewsInsights.org) – Fox News Host Jesse Watters gave voice to an odd online conspiracy theory on the Tuesday, January 9, edition of “Jesse Watters Primetime.” The host asked his viewers how they thought singer Taylor Swift could have possibly become so popular so quickly. Watters proposed to answer the question by suggesting the entertainer had become an asset of the US Pentagon and NATO in a complex psyop operation to control the hearts and minds of millions.

To bolster the popular theory borrowed from online conspiracy advocates, Watters showed a brief clip from a 2019 academic conference held in Tallinn, Estonia, the 11th International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon 2019). After airing the short clip, the Fox host interpreted it for viewers as the Pentagon pitching NATO on turning Swift into a psyop asset to combat online misinformation.

Is Taylor Swift a Pentagon PsyOp asset? pic.twitter.com/yHp8WywKh8

— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) January 10, 2024

Watters told his audience he had “no evidence” that Swift was participating in a psyop, telling them he would have shared it otherwise. However, he seemed suspicious that a pop star would encourage fans to participate in the electoral process and vote.

NATO organizes the conference annually to focus on advances in cyber research. Johns Hopkins-based Data Scientist Alicia Bargar presented the session, “Challenges and Opportunities to Counter Information Operations Through Social Network Analysis and Theory.”

In her 25-minute presentation, Bargar presented examples of potential techniques someone might use to counter misinformation online at about the 19-minute mark. The first example she gave was using famous influencers, and the person she chose in her example was Taylor Swift because she was popular and had a significant online presence.

However, speaking with Business Insider, Bargar said individuals like Watters have taken her presentation comments out of context. She told the outlet she has never had any association with the Pentagon or NATO. Additionally, she said nobody from Fox News had ever “reached out to me for comment.”

Moreover, Bargar explained that she chose Swift as “an incidental example” of someone famous in her presentation to flesh out “a social network analysis concept” for her audience in a more entertaining way. She added that providing real-world theoretical examples to clarify ideas is commonplace in academia.