Question

Taylor Swift secretly wrote the spy-novel-turned-movie ‘Argylle’.

Answer 1

As entertaining and thrilling it would be for Taylor Swift to be writing under a pen name, the "secret" identity of Elly Conway isn't who Swifties were drawn to believe. In a direct interview with The Telegraph's Jake Kerridge, it was revealed that Elly Conway is truly two people: Australian screenwriter and novelist Terry Hayes and British author Tammy Cohen. 

Cohen jokingly acknowledges the speculations and says, "God, I hope all the people that pre-ordered on the basis that Taylor wrote it aren’t disappointed."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/elly-conway-argylle-real-true-identity-interview/

Comments

Nice work on your concise yet thorough fact-check that includes strong evidence that the claim is false.

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Really good fact check. It was concise and included the necessary information to support your result of the claim. I think adding a few more sources to corroborate your answer would solidify that you did the research and are confident in the answer. However, the source you added was the primary source in this case which is great!

Answer 2

The source of this claim is a TikTok video by the user JessiSwiftTok which was posted on October 21st of last year. By the username, you can assume she is a "swiftie" and more likely than others to create extravagant fan theories. The article linked to this claim lists multiple accounts of "proof" of the theory. This story is interesting because the real Elly Conway's identity was unknown until The Telegraph announced it was two writers working together under a different name all along. Therefore, Taylor Swift was not the author.

"Vaughn wanted to make a movie adaptation of Hayes’s I Am Pilgrim; however, MGM had the rights, and “they could not do a deal with Matthew for their own bizarre reasons,” explained Hayes. But Vaughn decided that instead of adapting an existing book he couldn’t get his hands on, he’d ask Hayes to write an accompanying book inspired by a movie in development, Argylle, a book that would be like what Conway would’ve written in the context of the movie. Hayes asked Cohen to co-author the book with him, as he was still working on The Year of the Locust, and Argylle was born."

   - https://www.vulture.com/2024/02/elly-conway-argylle-author-revealed.html

https://www.tiktok.com/@jessicalynnslocum/video/7292318626214858027?_r=1&_t=8gkivbdFUL8

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/elly-conway-argylle-real-true-identity-interview/

Comments

Thank you for referring back to the source that was referenced in the article. By deducting that the source had strong correlations to Taylor Swift does raise some concerns as to how legitimate the source is. With the tiktok source, you referenced vulture and quoted things from the article which was also helpful in terms of getting to where your fact-checking logic came from.

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This is very understandable seeing as though the fan base does theorize a lot about the ways in which Swift contributes herself into the world of media and with her career. While there are many details of the movie and plot that seem aligned with that of Swift's aesthetic and lifestyle, this evidence of the claim being false is most accurate according to the evidence provided and Tiktok user's investigation.

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Your argument was made a lot stronger due to all the proof you had relating to the source of the claim. I like that the quote you used tied into the claim that started it all. Next time, add more analysis to the quoted text to strengthen your argument.

Answer 3

Many fan speculations are uplifting the rumors that Taylor Swift secretly wrote the new spy movie, Argyle. In this claim's source, the video comes from a fan pointing out coincidences between the pop star's previous works and themes in the movie that coincide with Taylor Swift's life habits. Admittedly, many funny coincidences connect the singer to the new film and Swift is known for leaving easter eggs for fans to decode as a form of engagement with her content, but this time it has been debunked by many sources close in proximity to the real film creators, including a blatant denial from the film's director Matthew Vaughn. With many denials and fact checks, this claim is nothing more than fan-made speculations and conspiracies.

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/argylle-director-matthew-vaughn-taylor-swift-conspiracy-theory-cat-spy-novel-1234947163/

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/10/fans-are-sure-taylor-swift-is-secretly-behind-upcoming-spy-movie-argylle

https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/taylor-swift-argylle-didnt-write-matthew-vaughn

Comments

I appreciate your mention of fan speculation amongst your fact-check. Taylor Swift being as famous as she is most certainly the subject of much speculation. You did a great job in listing your sources, and referring to them within your fact-check. Most notably the quote from director Matthew Vaughn. You did a great job guiding us through your own thoughts while using sources to back it all up.

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Great analysis of the original source, the Tiktok video. I appreciate how you connected this rumor with the many fan theories surrounding Taylor Swift because it speaks to the volume of rumors constantly involving her. To make this factcheck even stronger, I would include direct quotes from the film director so we can see exactly how he debunks this claim. Perhaps crediting where you found this information and hyperlinking the article. I see you used Vanity Fair and Rolling Stones as sources, which are reliable sites. It would be helpful to see which evidence from your factcheck came from each source.

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I agree with your analysis. It was great that you could pinpoint the source and why the rumor was created. It is good to understand the misinformation did not come from a harmful intention. The sources you backed this up with are solid, overall great job!

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It is helpful that you provide context about Taylor Swift leaving "hints" about collaborative projects she's involved with which explains as to why this claim was brought up. Additionally, how you highlight the origin/ author of the claim is not a reliable or formally recognized source which reveals how they are not a solid source of accurate information. Lastly, providing three sources shows you did extensive research which is important.

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It made it helpful to know more about where the claim came from however, I feel like it would be beneficial to hear from an expert or someone who worked with Taylor or Argylle to come out and debunk that claim. Including this in your argument would strengthen it.

Answer 4

The link that was provided leads you to an article by Ploygon.com claiming that Taylor Swift was behind the movie "Argylle". As we dive deeper into the movie and go into sites such as IMBD you can tell this is false. Taylor had nothing to do with the movie. The movie was written by Jason Fuchs and directed by Mathew Vaughn. Taylor Swift's name was not mentioned on the IMBD site. The original post was from a not-so-reliable source which already made the claim probably not true. I also found an article from Hollywood Life that asked the actors and actresses involved if Taylor Swift had anything to do with the movie. Everyone said no, which is coming from people who are actually in the movie. Another reason why this is false was found in a ScreenRant article. In this article it even said how Taylor Swift normally drops small hints to her fan base known as "Swifties" and her followers call those hints "Easter Eggs". Taylor did not mention this movie once in the previous months or years. To sum it up, this claim is false and it is clear that Taylor Swift had nothing to do with this movie. I would put this under misleading since it claimed that Taylor was indeed behind this movie when she was not. At the end of the day, it could hurt this movie's box score if people hear those rumors since some might not be fans of Taylor Swift. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15009428/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_5_nm_3_q_arg

https://hollywoodlife.com/feature/did-taylor-swift-write-argylle-5246721/

https://screenrant.com/argylle-movie-taylor-swift-involvement-rumors-explained/

Answer 5

The article is speculating that Taylor Swift wrote the spy-novel book that the new movie, Argylle, is based on. However, this claim is false. The source that the article used for their claim was a TikTok user @jessicalynnslocum. The user is certain that Taylor Swift is the writer known as Elly Conway. Although this conclusion is only based on speculations such as Taylor Swift using a cat backpack like a character in the movie or how Taylor Swift had red hair in a music video (similar to the Elly Conway character in the movie). The TikTok user is connecting small details from Taylor's life to the movie, but it's not any real evidence. Since this claim gained a lot of attention from the Taylor Swift community there has been a comment from the director of the movie, Matthew Vaughn. He said, "I did read the conspiracies and I was like, wow, they don’t leave a stone unturned! But it’s not Taylor Swift. She definitely didn’t write the book" (https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/argylle-director-matthew-vaughn-taylor-swift-conspiracy-theory-cat-spy-novel-1234947163/). Based on the comment, Taylor Swift is not the author of the book.

Answer 6

This claim has been proven false. It was first posted by the user JessiSwiftTok on October 21st on tiktok. The user used a misleading source that used a list of coincidences as 'proof' of their claim. However, since this content was posted, Elly Conway's true identity was revealed in an interview with The Telegraph's Jake Kerridge. Elly Conway is actually two people: Australian screenwriter and novelist Terry Hayes and British author Tammy Cohen.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/elly-conway-argylle-real-true-identity-interview/

https://www.tiktok.com/@jessicalynnslocum/video/7292318626214858027?_r=1&_t=8gkivbdFUL8

Answer 7

This claim's original source is a video that user JessiSwiftTok uploaded on TikTok on October 21st 2023. You can deduce from her username that she is a "swiftie" and that she is more prone than others to make elaborate fan theories. There are several accounts of "proof" for the theory in the article that is linked to this assertion. This is an intriguing story because it wasn't until The Telegraph revealed that two writers were collaborating under a different pen name that the true identity of Elly Conway was revealed. As a result, Taylor Swift did not write this.

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/argylle-director-matthew-vaughn-taylor-swift-conspiracy-theory-cat-spy-novel-1234947163/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/elly-conway-argylle-real-true-identity-interview/

Answer 8

Although Taylor Swift is known for dropping hints to her fans about things she is working on, Taylor Swift did not write the book Argylle. The theory came from a TikToker that noticed similarities between some of Taylor Swift's work and the book. The author was originally an unidentified ghost author, so the TikToker created a theory that it could be Taylor Swift. The theory went viral. Recently, however, the authors came forward and revealed themselves. The article I found, said, "Terry Hayes, the Australian novelist and screenwriter best known for I Am Pilgrim (Bantam), and Tammy Cohen, the British author of psychological thrillers including When She Was Bad and They All Fall Down (both Black Swan)." This proves that despite some of the links to Taylor Swift, she is not the author. 

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/identity-of-argylle-author-elly-conway-revealed-to-be-two-people#:~:text=The%20identity%20of%20the%20mysterious,They%20All%20Fall%20Down%20(both 

Answer 9

The claim that Taylor Swift secretly wrote the spy-novel-turned-movie 'Argylle' is false. The origin of this rumor can be traced down to a conspiracy TikTok made by the user 'jessicalynnslocum' on 10/21/23 and another conspiracy TikTok posted a few days later by the user 'chloeandpercy' on 10/22/23. Upon further investigation of both of these TikTok accounts, both of them post an extreme amount of Swift lore and could both be labeled as Swifties. Thus, showing extreme bias in both of their claims. The conspiracy is based on the fact that there is little known about the author of the novel, Elly Conway, and that there are several similar themes in both the film and Taylor's easter eggs in her music videos. The conspiracy is also based around Taylor's use of pseudonyms, claiming that the artist could be writing the film under the pseudonym, Elly Conway. However, these claims have been debunked and proven false by several different publications. In an article from Rolling Stone, there is a quote from the director of the film openly stating that Swift did not write the book.

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/argylle-director-matthew-vaughn-taylor-swift-conspiracy-theory-cat-spy-novel-1234947163/

https://www.polygon.com/23929262/taylor-swift-elly-conway-argylle-book-dua-lipa-henry-cavill

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/10/fans-are-sure-taylor-swift-is-secretly-behind-upcoming-spy-movie-argylle

Links to the original TikToks:

https://www.tiktok.com/@jessicalynnslocum/video/7292318626214858027?_r=1&_t=8gkivbdFUL8

https://www.tiktok.com/@chloeandpercy/video/7292678843452673313?embed_source=71929435%2C121374463%2C121351166%2C71838018%2C121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%3Bnull%3Bembed_blank&refer=embed&referer_url=www.vanityfair.com%2Fhollywood%2F2023%2F10%2Ffans-are-sure-taylor-swift-is-secretly-behind-upcoming-spy-movie-argylle&referer_video_id=7292678843452673313

Comments

Great breakdown of the claim, and I appreciated how you used multiple sources to back up your information and get evidence against the claim. You did a good job of listing your sources and providing more information on why people might think that Taylor Swift wrote a secret novel by explaining the easter eggs. Your fact check was concise.

Answer 10

This claim stems from a TikTok Taylor Swift fan account by the user JessiSwiftTok. It is clear that the person reporting this claim is a crazed fan, and does not have any real insight on the topic. The article I used to factcheck this claim comes from the website Polygon, "Why do people think Taylor Swift secretly wrote Henry Cavill's new spy movie?" Written by Petrana Radulovic on October 24, 2023. The article breaks down multiple pieces of evidence that may explain why Taylor might be the real writer. Some of the pieces of evidence include the date Conways first post was on Taylors birthday, and that Swift has worn multiple Argyle sweatshirts. So none of the claims are from any factual sources and are just pure speculation. 

Swift has worn numerous argyle sweaters — and sold one as a piece of merch: It is not exactly quite the same argyle pattern, but considering her fondness for the pattern, it seems likely that if she did write a book, it would incorporate the textile somehow

https://www.polygon.com/23929262/taylor-swift-elly-conway-argylle-book-dua-lipa-henry-cavill