Did Taylor Swift threaten legal action against student who tracked her private jet usage?

Question

Student used publicly available information to track Taylor Swift's private jet usage and emissions. Swift's legal team sent the student a cease and desist for and threatened legal action if he did not stop his “stalking and harassing behavior.”

Comments

Yes this is true, after doing more research, The Washington Post, recently came out with an article, "Taylor Swift threatens legal action against student who tracks her jet." Harwell goes into detail, about legal action, "have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies."

This factcheck is true and nicely done, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/06/taylor-swift-jet-tracking-legal-threat/

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This claim turns out to be true. After doing some digging myself I found an article by Catherine Thorbecke on CNN. Thornbe cake writes that Sweeney operates the accounts on several social media platforms using publicly-available flight data and recently it was confirmed that he received a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action from attorneys of Swifts.
This fact is true.

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I liked your use of quotes that supported the original claim.

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Good work on citing your sources and clearly articulating why the claim is true. Nice work!!

Answer 1

This claim appears to be true. The original post from @environment on instagram claims that Taylor Swift is taking legal action against Jack Sweeney, a university student from Florida, for tracking her plane routes. Upon doing further research, I found more information that supports this claim. From BBC.com, they say how Jack Sweeney uses public aviation records to see Taylor Swift's use of planes and how much her travels contribute to harmful emissions. "In a letter first revealed by the Washington Post, lawyers for the singer wrote that plane tracking was a "life-or-death matter" and there was "no legitimate interest in or public need for this information, other than to stalk, harass, and exert dominion and control"." Her team claims what he is doing to be an attempt to stalk and harass the singer, but Jack Sweeney's lawyers say, "The letter was an attempt to bully Jack into doing something that legally he doesn't have to do. Unfortunately folks with power and money often do this...He's not doing anything unlawful."" 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68248168

Answer 2

This article is true. The post was created by an account named Environment, that has a very large following and post a lot of current events. They tend to post facts, and back them up with other sources. It is also true that the student, Jack Sweeny, is known for releasing information about celebrities after it is not harmful for the celebrities themselves.

There are other reliable news sources that have stated the same information as Environment. The Washington Post said that Taylor Swifts attorney state that Jack Sweeny is harassing celebrities and needs to stop. Los Angeles Times stated that Jack got a cease-and-desist letter for stalking and harassing. These sources are reliable, and have information and sources to back up their claims.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2024-02-07/taylor-swift-legal-action-cease-desist-teen-tracking-flights-jack-sweeney#:~:text=Jack%20Sweeney%2C%20a%20student%20at,information%E2%80%9D%20about%20the%20singer's%20whereabouts.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/06/taylor-swift-jet-tracking-legal-threat/

Answer 3

Yes, this is true. The reason I chose this fact check was because of all the internet memes and talk that have been circulating around on social media. It is interesting because I was aware that Taylor Swift had sent the student a cease and desist. However I was not aware that it was because of safety risks or because of stalkers. While there is not proof of this either according to an AP article, the information on the internet is slightly misleading as to say that Swift is coming for Sweeney, the student purely because he showcased the ability to track her flights in an effort to display her carbon emissions. 

https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-jet-tracking-jack-sweeney-c2a22089f84c9dcada4fca7ed138a399

Answer 4

This statement is true. CNN reported that a Florida college student who tracks the private jets of public figures and celebrities has received a cease-and-desist from Swift's attorneys. This is also the same person who had his X (Twitter) account banned by Elon Musk after him finding out that the student tracks him too. Swift's attorney, Katie Morrone accused the student of “stalking and harassing behavior, including consistently publishing real-time and precise information about our client’s location and future whereabouts to the public on social media.”