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in General Factchecking by Newbie (370 points)
In this article the author states many reasons for why Taylor swift is a bad artist. He uses reasonings such as lack of originality, unoriginal rhymes, repetitive reputation. But why does this classify someone as a bad artist? The author mentions how she uses the same rhymes for most of her songs but again that doesn't categorize someone as a bad artist. He also talks about how all of her songs are about relationships and breakups and thats why she's a bad artist. The author seems to really dislike Taylor swift as a whole by mentioning how unoriginal she is by using repetitive history throughout her songs yet started the article stating she's the pop idol who just finished the second most grossing tour by any artist ever. This source has no sources to back up why Taylor Swift is a "bad artist" and seems to just have a very opinionated claim. He talked nothing about her as a person and what she does as an artist. The author claims she's unoriginal but is probably the artist of the decade with millions and millions of fans. I find this claim hugely  exaggerated and untrue with the lack of references and facts to back up his claim.

9 Answers

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by Apprentice (1.6k points)
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The main "claim" here is that "Taylor Swift is a bad musical artist."

The immediate problem here is that a claim should assert a statement as fact or true. The topic in the "claim" is a subject that can never be definitively established as such or the opposite.

The article from Medium, written by Curtis Stone, summarizes a compilation of pseudo-arguments in the author's attempt to "prove" Taylor Swift is, by a definition that is not fixed, a bad artist. Many of these use concepts and metrics presented in the form of statistical evidence, but the figures shown are related to the topics on which Taylor Swift bases her lyricism and specific words that may be commonplace throughout her songs.

None of these are evidential, impartial, or definitive metrics by which to measure how "good" or "bad" an artist Swift may be. 

The author also does not make a claim that is specific enough to assert a fact. Are they claiming that Taylor Swift is an unsuccessful artist? That Swift does not excel in popularity metrics? Or that Swift fails to make music that would be agreeably placed in the genre(s) she promotes that she makes? Which part of her music career, if not all, constitutes a conclusion that would be based on non-circumstantial, measurable, and fairly collected evidence? Because these questions must be asked, the author fails to adequately define "bad artist" to make an argument for their claim that Taylor Swift falls under this definition.

If an artist's being good or bad is measured by the mass appreciation of their creative works, then Swift currently stands to be one of the best artists of our time. Of course, that's a subjective statement, and it is not agreeable to everybody, nor shall it ever be.
Swift can continue to gain a larger and larger following just as easily as she can lose them en masse. A person's evaluation of the compatibility between her music and their tastes is not related to such.

TL;DR: This can be neither true nor false as the claim does not have a fact to assert. It is an article composed entirely of opinionated statements and circumstantial arguments. The author fails to define what composes a "bad artist," and with no definition, fails to apply the argument that Taylor Swift meets this criterion -- simply because such criteria are impossible for it to exist impartially and as a fact. The evaluation of whether or not Swift's music is appreciated or disliked is up to the person who listens to it, not a statement of fact that can be applied to the masses.

Can't be true or false (Opinion, poem, etc.)
by Newbie (290 points)
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Yes, this really can't be proven true or false. The quality of music is up to the individual listener, it can't be measured like the article is trying to do.
by Novice (520 points)
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You make every good and extensive effort to prove your point.
by Newbie (310 points)
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This is very true and very well written out for understanding. Fact-checking is made for facts, not opinions. And, this claim is a personal opinion of Taylor Swift, not a fact. Therefore, it is true that this is not something that can necessarily be fact-checked. This kind of claim can also not be measured. There is no measurable wy to categorize good or bad. Really good answer!
by Newbie (310 points)
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This was a very constructive comment, you gave lots of information as to what the nature of a fact check is and why this article does not apply. I also liked how you added a summary at the bottom for those who weren't able to read through the entire answer, overall very well written.
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by Newbie (360 points)

The main claim stating Taylor Swift is a bad musical artist is false. This claim is ran on opinions and thoughts without any logical reasoning or facts. The first articles that come up on the internet are articles from Reddit and Quora. These two websites are ran off of unofficial opinions of others. From the source Sun News, we see the main claim stating Taylor Swift is a bad musician, but within the main claim, the article stats that this is nothing but an opinion.

 https://sunnewsdaily.com/stories/articles/2023/03/30/opinion-taylor-swift-is-all-too-overrated/

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by Novice (640 points)

The article cited, is not from a credible source. It cites a variety of reasons that attempt to disqualify Taylor Swift as an artist, but fails to define the term artist. https://medium.com/theherald/taylor-swift-sucks-and-i-can-prove-it-cae12926e284

There are very few articles of credit  to be found calling Taylor Swift a bad artist. The top article in fact, is the one cited above. The issue with this piece is again it fails to set a bench mark. Taylor Swift is a bad artist compared to what? What constitutes a good artist? It cites her receptive lyrics and unoriginal rhymes and three rotating topics. All this to say, if there is no gauge for what makes someone a 'bad artist' the claim does not hold up. As seen in this article.

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by Newbie (300 points)

I was drawn to this claim as Taylor Swift is one of my favorite artists. While I would love to talk about how much I disagree with the writer, but on the practical side, he did not list any kind of factual evidence to prove his points. All he really did was talk about his opinions. I don’t think this claim can be true or false because everyone has a different music taste and every artist has different styles that others may not get a kick out of, i,e; this writer. The ending reads, So, Taylor Swift sucks. Not because she can’t sing, just because she does the same. . .exact. . .thing in every song. Maybe you love that and, well, good for you! I personally like my music with a bit more variety and character, but that’s an opinion.” Which definitely helps prove that this claim really can’t be counted as true or false.

Can't be true or false (Opinion, poem, etc.)
by Novice (970 points)
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I really appreciate that you start your comment off by disclosing you really enjoy Taylor Swift's music and acknowledge how you could be biased if it weren't for the fact that the main article is just an opinion. Obviously personal opinions can't be right or wrong, but I appreciate how you include a quote from the article where the writer is recognizing that what he is saying is just an opinion.
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by Newbie (340 points)
This article's claim is that Taylor Swift is a bad artist. This claim is not backed up by any amount of fact it is entirely based on opinion. There is no source used. There are a lot of other articles stating a similar opinion but none of which can be backed up with any fact as there is no straightforward definition of a good or bad artist. This article is not a legitimate source.
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by Newbie (300 points)
This article is an opinion piece; music is subjective, and therefore, there is no good or bad in a strict definition. I myself do not like Taylor Swift, but to say that the most grossing artist in the world is a bad artist is laughable. What makes a good artist if a bad artist can sell out in multiple countries?

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-eras-tour-highest-grossing-all-time-1-billion-1234921647/
Can't be true or false (Opinion, poem, etc.)
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by Newbie (320 points)

This article claims that Taylor Swift is a bad and they can prove it, suggesting that they believe this to be a fact. However, there is no way to prove if she is or not, because it is based on personal opinion. Cutis Stone does do a reasonably scientific analysis of Taylor Swifts sings, accounting for rhyming and subject matter, but at the end of the article they admit that this is an opinion, "I personally like my music with a bit more variety, and character, but that's an opinion". Additionally, the information does not come from any credible source. The only purpose of this piece is to target fans and create a discussion. The author points out that fans are most likely to be the ones reading the article and then makes a bold statement to engage them. This is not a claim that can be argued, because it is only an opinion.

Can't be true or false (Opinion, poem, etc.)
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by (140 points)
The claim that "Taylor Swift is a bad artist" cannot be proven true or false because it is an opinion piece. As well as not citing credible sources in the claim, the other articles with the same opinion provide just as little facts to support itself, just subjective claims with no source to back it up.
Can't be true or false (Opinion, poem, etc.)
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by Novice (660 points)

The claim that Taylor Swift is a bad artist is an opinion. This article is pretty much just a long rage bait targeted at "Swifties" to make them mad. There is no way to factually prove that someone is a bad artist because good and bad art is entirely subjective. Curtis Stone, the author of this piece clearly hates Taylor Swift as an artist but one persons very angry opinion does not make it true. What's even more interesting is that he spends the entire paper trying to convince people that this is fact, and that this is more than just an opinion but then he ends it all with "I personally like my music with a bit more variety and character, but that’s an opinion." 

Can't be true or false (Opinion, poem, etc.)

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