Question

Taylor Swift held up a 'Trump Won, Democrats Cheated' flag at 2024 Grammy Awards.

Comments

This video was edited and Taylor Swift is not holding a sign that says "Trump Won, Democrats Cheated" flag at the Grammy's Award show. Even the linked media says on the bottom addressed by the site: Manipulated Media: Stay informed. Even the person who posted the video is an unreliable source making content that is "unserious" and unfactual. This favt checking site supports this evidence: https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/truth-or-fake/20240206-taylor-swift-did-not-endorse-former-president-donald-trump-during-the-grammy-awards

Answer 1

Starting off by just looking at the video, it is definitely altered. "Her" fingers on the flag are completely still which would likely not be the case, especially when she is shifting her body. Also, when Taylor Swift does shift her body slightly in the video, the flag does not move, as if it was stiff cardboard. However, the ripples on the sign indicate that it is likely a fabric material, such as a flag. We should also look at the twitter profile that posted the video. The profile has Donald Trump as the profile picture and the username is PapiTrumpo, which indicates they are likely a fan of Donald Trump. Their bio also indicates that they like to post parody content.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/taylor-swift-deepfake-x-falsely-depict-supporting-trump-grammys-flag-rcna137620

This article indicates that Taylor Swift has been dealing with deep fake and manipulated content for awhile.

This news video shows the actual footage of Taylor Swift at the Grammy Awards:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JPv4rTS-KU

Due to the information provided above, I believe this claim to be false.

Comments

While the video of Taylor Swift holding the flag is very clearly fake, I don't think it's deepfaked technology like the NBC articles claim it to be. Rather the video is a poor edit created with software like Adobe premiere or photoshop. Deepfake according to MIT Sloan refers to the use of synthetic media where a person's face is replaced by another face with similar likeness. In the original PapiTrumpo tweet, Taylor's face is clearly not swapped at all as other videos without the edit show her making the same movements and expressions so it is not deepfaked. In another tweet the same user edited a picture of Elon Musk holding up the same flag as Taylor Swift. If you look closely at the shading and lighting of the flag it is the exact same as the one in the original Taylor edit.

Deepfake explanation: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/deepfakes-explained

Elon Musk flag: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/elon-musk-trump-won-flag/

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I enjoy your response because I find the layout to be easy to read and still somewhat short and to the point. I appreciate all your linked sources backing up your claim, they help to strengthen your article. I also really enjoy that you explore and go into depth on how you determined the image was altered with AI and how you could tell it wasn't the original image. Your exploration into the account that posted this photoshopped video is also important and helps to decrepit them. I really liked your response and thought it provided me with new and unique information. You could introduce the topic a little more in the beginning instead of just jumping in, but other than that it was great!

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This is a great analysis of the edited video and why exactly it is false, as opposed to just stating it is false. I too agree the edit was done poorly, it is clear from Taylor's fake fingers, and the difference in lighting with the sign compared to the rest of the clip.

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When fact checking, you can't assume that the obvious is obvious, so I think it was really helpful you took apart what was a clearly edited video. Also, good job providing a link to the original video!

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Your fact check was very compelling and showed that you took a multifaceted approach that combined critical visual observations, contextual analysis, and cross-referencing with authoritative sources. By incorporating an NBC News article, you thoughtfully added historical context about Taylor Swift's encounters with deep fake content,  which enhanced the credibility of your skepticism.

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It is great that you found the original source to analyze when fact checking. Your fact check is very detailed and uses a variety of strategies to disprove the claim. I like how you helped viewers point out clearly edited pieces of the original video, so that others can know how to spot AI generated content.

Answer 2

This video has been altered. Taylor Swift is not holding a banner stating that former President Donald Trump won the 2021 presidential election. She is not holding any item in her hands. The original video was taken from Variety's account on X.com, formerly known as Twitter, which was sourced from the Recording Academy. Here is the link to the unaltered video - https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1754308552317976807. 

Comments

I appreciate that you were able to locate the original video to demonstrate the falsity of this one. I like how you were able to support a factual refutation with personal experience. I sincerely value the work you did to locate the original video. It gives more reassurance and elucidation that it is untrue.

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I totally agree with your approach and thank you for finding the original video. Yes, the video in this post has been modified.

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I like your explanation of how this is misleading and gave the proof as to why it's not true. There is a picture of Taylor Swift but she is not holding up a sign talking about Trump.

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This was a well done fact-check. You provided the source for the original video which allows viewers to follow your steps to proving this claim as false.

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I 100% agree with this assessment. It is almost obvious that the video is altered. The original video is not hard to find, at all!

Answer 3

This is false.

The video of Taylor Swift holding a banner that states, “Trump Won, Democrats Cheated,” was created by AI and amplified on X, formally known as Twitter. The videos that are surfacing on X has been flagged as “manipulated media”. Variety posted the original video on their TikTok account, where most of the AI generated videos are being used from. In their video, Swift is not holding anything and is posing for the carpet’s photographers. In another angle from Vanity Fair, there is no sighting of a banner or it being used by Swift. Check out these sources for a closer look: 

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8crCg1b/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6I2TNXW6Fqc

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/taylor-swift-arrives-grammys-2024

https://x.com/thepatriotoasis/status/1754322431001395244?s=46

Comments

I think this fact-check is well done. The inclusivity of multiple sources provided helps to prove that the video was manipulated. Incorporating videos is necessary for this claim since it is a video itself so, the fact that you were able to find multiple official sources with the same version video is excellent to prove this as false.

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This fact check is well done. You provided muiplte claims that have supported your claim. This shows that Taylor swift did not hold up a sign saying that

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I appreciate you adding multiple sources to your answer instead of just one. Even though one source for this should be enough, sharing multiple sources is helpful to back up credibility.

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It was really helpful to display the several media that featured Taylor on the red carpet sans the Trump flag. It was evident that the Twitter user was editing the video in order to control other people.

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This was a very good fact-check. I liked how you provided multiple sources because it gives the credibility to debunk this claim. I also liked how you provided a source for another video of Taylor Swift on the Grammys red carpet that was manipulated. This showed that many X users are partaking in manipulated media and are trying to spread false images to the public.

Answer 4

This video was posted on Twitter and it has been manipulated. This video is taken from the Grammy red carpet, and the banner saying "Trump Won, Democrats Cheated" has been edited on top. If you go to a regular Google search for Taylor Swift arriving at the Grammy red carpet, you will see she was never holding this banner. The youtube video I have linked shows this exact clip without any manipulation and alterations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rU71idaTZk

Comments

I think you did a great job in debunking this claim.  Providing evidence through the original YouTube video does clearly show that Taylor Swift was not holding anything remotely close to a "Trump Won, Democrats Cheated" flag.  It was probably edited by someone who leans more to the Republican party and is a big fan of Donald Trump.

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I think you get straight to the point to prove that this is false. However, when fact-checking it is important to provide more detail evidence. I think incorporating a quote from a source would help prove this claim. The youtube video is a valid source but, if there were more example videos provided then that would further prove this as false.

Answer 5

This is a manipulated video. For one you can clearly see the photoshop used in the video. The flag is a static image and never moves. And the lighting on the hands don't match real life. Also part way through the video the whole image vibrates clearly showing that someone just placed the image of the hands and the flag over the original video.

Besides that Taylor Swift was wearing black gloves for the Grammys red carpet. As seen in this article: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Fgrammys-2024-taylor-swift-asks-stylist-to-change-her-clock-choker-to-midnight-before-hitting-red-carpet-watch-8558631&psig=AOvVaw25WYT6Ru8s8jW4YesXWwhk&ust=1707607794650000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBYQjhxqFwoTCLiq__K0n4QDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ

The manipulated video didn't even try to include the gloves that she wore.

Comments

I appreciate how your fact-check is direct but thorough at the same time. I like how you noted visual cues in the video that signal that it is manipulated. I also like how you included Taylor’s look for the Grammy red carpet (with photos) and how the video missed a key component of her outfit, her black gloves. This just further shows that it is a manipulated video and purely created to mislead people. My only advice for next time would be to look into the publisher/creator of it and research who they are and why they might post something like this.

Answer 6

This video and claim are false and were edited by AI. The video first gained traction on X, but Vanity Fair posted the original video (the unedited version) on their X account. The link to the original video will be posted below. The AI-generated post is now labeled as "manipulated media" by X. Taylor Swift isn't even holding a flag in the unedited original post.

https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1754308552317976807. 

Comments

I love the initial work you did on the fact check. I think that finding the initial post in itself is very important and substantial to figuring out whether this claim is true or false. The only issue that I have is the lack of further digging, I feel like you could have gone the slightest bit further possibly digging into the person who is promoting and posting such a picture.

Answer 7

This post, which states that Taylor Swift held up a "Trump Won, Democrats Cheated" flag at the 2024 Grammy Awards, is false. The video has clearly been altered and has taken a video such as the one linked below by the "Recording Academy / GRAMMY s" YouTube and photoshopped a flag into Taylor's hands. In the video by "Recording Academy / GRAMMY s" Taylor is not holding anything in her hands. USA Today also posted a story about the viral post posted by "PapiTrumpo" (on X) saying that it was, in fact, an altered video. The video also shows that Tyalor's right hand is slightly cut off.

Links to sources ---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68F5zp_sKJ8 AND https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/02/07/taylor-swift-pro-trump-banner-edited-grammys-fact-check/72494086007/

Answer 8

This video was altered. I first found the original video, (linked below) from the magazine of the photographers that took the video. I then looked it up in a Google search and saw that Politifact, a fact-checking website, has already debunked previously edited photos of her holding up the same flag. Additionally, the post is flagged as "manipulated media" on Twitter, the platform it was first uploaded to. The bio of the account that posted the video claims that they use parody in their account.

https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1754308552317976807

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/feb/02/instagram-posts/altered-photo-shows-taylor-swift-holding-a-trump-w/

https://twitter.com/PapiTrumpo

Answer 9

The video that shows Taylor Swift holding up a “Trump Won, Democrats Cheated” flag at the 2024 Grammy’s is an altered video from the X user PapiTrumpo which is a Parody/Satire account (as stated in his bio). Going through this account there is a very long track record of altering images and videos. Along with that, the post published by PapiTrumpo has also been flagged by X as manipulated content. The source of this video of Swift from the Grammy’s is from the Recording Academy shared by Variety on X. In this video, Taylor Swift is featured on the carpet holding nothing in her hands, to further debunk this altered footage Swift’s red carpet look included her wearing long black gloves and in the altered version she has no gloves on at all. 

Sources:

https://twitter.com/PapiTrumpo

https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1754308552317976807

Answer 10

This image and take is completely false. As we have already discovered the original picture was taken on Variety's Twitter account during the Recording Academy Awards. Furthering my research the account that used the Taylor Swift photo titled @papitrumpo, is notorious for using deepfake and altered images. I believe that this agent used these images to mislead and misrepresent a popular celebrity's beliefs and ideals. Not only has Papitrumpo posted multiple misleading tweets, but is also quite obviously an avid Trump Supporter with an extreme amount of bias toward election issues.

Comments

Do you have any sources to back up your fact-check? Always add hyperlinks to your fact-checks.