Shake it up Baby!
New York, US, Sep 12 (EFE).- By Alicia Sánchez Gómez
Taylor Swift’s influence is again shaking up US politics, with her endorsement of Kamala Harris for the Nov. 5 election driving a flood of young voters to register.
Just a day later, over hundreds of thousands of people visited the voting site linked in her Instagram post, indicating the celebrated singer-songwriter’s sway over the youth vote that continues to defy conventional celebrity influence.
On late Tuesday, the global pop sensation urged her 283 million Instagram followers to vote for Harris.
According to the US Government Services Administration, 337,826 people had already visited the www.vote.org link she shared.
Swift has previously demonstrated her ability to boost voter registration dramatically in just hours.
In 2018, after supporting Democrat Phil Bredesen in the Tennessee Senate race, www.vote.org registered 65,000 new voters in 24 hours, and 250,000 over the next three days.
Robert Thompson, founder of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture, noted that while celebrity endorsements often have limited impact on voting behavior, Swift’s case is different.
That is because of her massive following and the devotion of her fans that is “genuinely” swaying significant numbers, especially among young voters, he said.
Swift’s authenticity seems to be a key factor.
According to a Harvard University study titled “Celebrities Strengthening Our Culture of Democracy,” Swift’s influence during the 2018 Tennessee Senate elections stemmed from the fact that “she spreads the message with her signature style of sincerity.”
In her initial political post, Swift explained her change of heart, citing personal and global events as reasons for her decision to speak out.
Her latest post backing Harris has already garnered over nine million likes and drawn reactions from public figures, including Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
While it remains to be seen if her endorsement will impact her US tour or album sales, Harvard’s findings suggest that such public stances can strengthen a celebrity’s brand by deepening their bond with fans.
Despite stepping into politics, Swift’s popularity hasn’t suffered.
In 2024, she set a new record with the highest-grossing tour in music history and was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. EFE
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