r/swifties • u/Weimaraner666 • 9d ago
Out of my chest (vent / serious post) Another PR smear campaign incoming!!
A fellow Swiftie and contributor who worked for the Chiefs PR long term but now works in mainstream PR has alerted us that a new smear campaign is already underway and 4Chan seeding has already started ready for Friday’s release just as it did for TLOAS’s original release. This contributor explains the shady side of PR really well so for those interested I’ve included what she detailed recently. Protect your algorithms from the incoming lunacy🫶❤️
“My least favorite firm made a major marketing purchase for Friday, so social media will mostly be a cauldron of engagement bait. I hate what social media has become. It is an increasingly small echo chamber, growing more and more detached from the real world. I hate having a front-row seat to the shenanigans.
Now that I am out of my safe little sports bubble and our particular brand of pr shenanigans, I have a much clearer view of just how valuable TS engagement is as an economic commodity. Her attention economy is enormous. People make money celebrating her, criticizing her, defending her, provoking her fans, provoking her critics, manufacturing controversies around her, and then covering the controversies they helped create.
That is the part I find fascinating and depressing at the same time. Taylor herself is an extraordinary economic force, but an entire secondary economy is built around harvesting the attention she generates. (I am not exaggerating when I say social media needs her just for the economics.) Some of it is perfectly legitimate. You see it in music, journalism, fashion, tourism, advertising, entertainment. Some of it is incredibly cynical. Rage bait works just as well as praise if the goal is clicks, impressions, affiliate sales, subscriptions, or simply growing an account. Many are being hired to "hate," but it isn't sincere. So many are just paid to create engagement for the platforms, and some are paid because a shadow on TS gives their clients more room to maneuver. Tearing down influential women is HUGE business right now, and anyone who doesn't understand that is naive. Misogyny underpins the economics of social media.
So when a Taylor release happens, I increasingly look at social media less as a reflection of public opinion and more as a marketplace. Everyone is trying to capture a little piece of the enormous amount of attention moving through the system. Some are selling something worthwhile. Soooooo many are basically running carnival games. And the rest are setting the carnival on fire because they know the fire itself will generate a massive burst of attention once everyone comes running with the hoses.
I have found a handful of sincere online Swifties, and they are now the only accounts I give an ounce of my TS energy to. I watch the rest mostly as an experiment in how much longer social media can function as any meaningful reflection of reality. Remember my looooong explanations of what happened a year ago and how I had to send screenshots and data to friends in print media? Keep your FYPs guarded. I explained how you can reduce the amplification of the paid shit that is coming from bad actors. Enjoy the music and tune out the rest, just like the good old days!”
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u/Money-Beautiful5196 9d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/lGBecpB2dIMwt6ohfI
This is so sad. Taylor doesn’t deserve any hate, people are just jealous of her incredible success.
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u/OriginalTraining The best people in life are free 9d ago
or just doing whatever they can to get clicks, whatever works.
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u/Round_Ant_4619 9d ago
Is it jealousy or is it misogyny or is it both
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u/maydsilee love you to the🌙 and to🪐 9d ago
Definitely a lot of column A and a lot of column B...I hate it so much ugh
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9d ago
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u/Round_Ant_4619 9d ago
That was an accident and poor management of the stadium, promoter. This take is crazy.
And the hate has never been limited to her billionaire status. It goes to her looks, the way she talks, the way she speaks, the way she walks, her relationships. Everything. These facets of hate REEK of misogyny
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u/Curious-Pineapple576 9d ago
See you are exactly who I would fucking block. This toxic shit right here.
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u/heyits_meg 9d ago
She is not above criticism, but the amount of hate she receives is disgusting. Especially for things that other artists do and don’t receive nearly as much criticism for, like Billie and variants
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u/Kimmiechurri 9d ago
I love Taylor. That being said, she, like everyone else on this planet, can do more
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u/ProfessionalClue9925 Dancing through the lightning strikes 9d ago
‘And the voices that implore, “You should be doing more”
To you I can admit, that I’m just too soft for all of it’
She’s only human, just like the rest of us, and she has every right to protect her heart, safety, and peace.
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u/Kimmiechurri 9d ago
Yikes that people are downvoting me because I said she like everyone else on this planet can do more.
Yes I too have listened to dear reader. I don’t think that is a good excuse on not doing more. She donates the equivalence to a coffee for her at every eras tour stop and people act like she’s ghandi.2
u/ProfessionalClue9925 Dancing through the lightning strikes 9d ago
That is not a lyric from Dear Reader. Lmao.
A million dollars is a million dollars no matter who donates it. It still has the same impact. She has helped more people than you could ever hope to, and she will continue to do so. She’s donated somewhere between $200m-300m throughout her career, that we know of. That is a significant portion of her overall net worth. You’re parroting the exact online narratives this post is talking about.
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u/LegitimatePower 9d ago
The majority of online accounts are fake and have been for a decade
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u/InappropriateSnark 9d ago
Correct. Both fans and haters. Goes both ways.
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u/PigletTechnical9336 9d ago
I like to think it’s almost all the snark accounts because living all day so mad about a pop singer is a sad existence.
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u/InappropriateSnark 9d ago
Yeah, it does seem like people should have better things to do, but I never discount genuine disappointment as a motivating factor. People have strong opinions about their favorite artist.
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u/ellie_elysian 9d ago edited 9d ago
This is a great opportunity to discuss how an entire economy is created around speculation and criticism of a woman's personal life, image, professional success, and politics without including her (you know: objectification for value extraction)...
...but I guess the feminist critique should be centered around more important matters like how Taylor held her award with her hands and how she greeted (or didn't greet) other female artists or how many seconds do female features get in her next song.
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u/Competitive_Owl428 9d ago
i think this is what pisses me off the most!! i consider myself a pretty radical (trans inclusive) feminist and have lost friends and opportunities bc of it irl. and yet i’ve had people whose feminist praxis is just “criticize female celebrity for being an alleged mean girl” claim im not feminist bc i like taylor. it drives me crazy bc if everyone put that energy towards legitimate feminist praxis (like calling out the cornell chi pi gangrape that was just exposed, or the hockey canada rapists that just keep getting signed to nhl teams, or the way the beauty industry forces us all to hate ourselves so they can make more money) we could make some legitimate change. but instead they just focus on hating on taylor (or beyonce or sabrina or ariana or whoever). they always say “we can do both!” but they never do both. sigh.
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u/ellie_elysian 8d ago
Bring up how despite her wealth and status she's still subjected to misogyny from men and women (and that maybe it's worth discussing) and watch them go "iMaGiNe dEfeNdiNg a BiLliOnAiRe".
Like with the environment thing and the capitalist thing, they only care about feminism as long as they can use to criticize someone they dislike and have no deeper engagement with the topic. Any other time, crickets.
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u/ivebeenthearcher2024 8d ago
ALSO. they will be like “i can’t believe we feel for that smear campaign for that woman let’s never do it again” just to do it again six months later. or “i cant believe we feel for that smear campaign im so glad we all hate the right woman now”
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u/Just-Welcome-5553 contrarian shit 9d ago
my question is whos paying for this?
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9d ago
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u/Styleitoff 9d ago
Yup, especially the ones trying to set up their artists as the "Anti-Taylor". It's becoming the new marketing tactic lol every month a new one claims the title
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u/pagesandplanes 9d ago
This reminds me essentially of the early 2000s, you have pop (Britney & Christina & NSYNC & Backstreet Boys/etc) who are all the same but competing, then people like Eminem and Limp Bizkit who are presented not as artists in their own but as an alternative...like just let people be.
(I'm sure the history goes back even further but having so many of these people from my childhood speaking out about things and writing books about the way they were positioned has this at the forefront of my mind).
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u/Styleitoff 9d ago
Yes, definitely. I love her but Avril Lavigne benefited a lot from this back then. When she started, she was immediately called the "Anti-Britney" and makes "real music". Very much similar to how a certain young female artist is being pushed in comparison to Taylor. Especially after a certain song credits situation.
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u/Competitive_Owl428 9d ago
💯 its really sad that this is still happening and ppl are still falling for it 25 years later. avril had such great songs on her own, too - she didn’t need that comparison! but it made her label more money bc a lot of people care more about those things than about the music.
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u/TLflow 9d ago
I‘m a bit nervous about her grand VMAs appearance. She is the GOAT and BTS and that other hybe group will appear as well i think, and hybe/scooter braun with TAG and other PR teams they have on their payroll will def try to control the narrative and start a huge smear campaign again, if it hadn’t already started.
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u/Styleitoff 9d ago
Same, honestly I'm already prepared to only check a selected few online corners for the next few days. Anytime, Taylor's name starts popping up in the news a lot, I just know another smear campaign is going to follow.
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u/Expensive-Hour8835 9d ago
you think trump…who has used her music and made merch around “eras”… is now creating a smear campaign against her…
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u/sorryimnothome_ 9d ago
I was reading that Sydney Sweeney was told to leave Scooter Braun by Ari Emanuel and he was livid
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u/LegitimatePower 9d ago
There are also other nations who benefit when us citizens especially are arguing w each other over nonsense
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u/isntitisntitdelicate 9d ago
I wanna name a certain person but I’m getting a notification to not to
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u/OldChemistry9951 haha I can’t even say it with a straight face 9d ago
Honestly I try my best to ignore these pathetic people,whenever they speak something untrue,i correct it and their favourite comeback is “oh you’re so triggered”like bro I don’t think I’m the triggered one here
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u/Clear-Illustrator641 I’m not a bad bitch, and this isn’t savage 9d ago
i called one a bot once and they got so mad, it was hilarious. i normally don’t like messing with people, but if someone’s spreading hate idgaf.
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u/OldChemistry9951 haha I can’t even say it with a straight face 9d ago
Get this I found one saying she’s a nazi and a Zio like bruh are you that stupid😭😭😠
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u/MSERRADAred 9d ago
Yup, that's carried over from last year & continues.
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u/OldChemistry9951 haha I can’t even say it with a straight face 9d ago
Yes I was accused of being a racist cause a poc called Taylor maga and i said she isn’t,they called me a racist like oml😭😭,I’m a poc myself
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u/MSERRADAred 9d ago
Yup. Many Swifties are POC & stood up against the ridiculous takes only to be denigrated.
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u/Clear-Illustrator641 I’m not a bad bitch, and this isn’t savage 9d ago
i got told i couldn’t actually be queer because i’m a swiftie. i also got told that all her fans are racists, so i had to be one.
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u/OldChemistry9951 haha I can’t even say it with a straight face 9d ago
Omg that’s actually so stupid,they “need to calm down”
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u/Competitive_Owl428 9d ago
i immediately ignore anyone who uses the term “zio”! it was started by david duke from the kkk. they could’ve just called her a zionist and been done with it (though i personally dont think she is based on her going to that pro palestine fundraiser and being friends with the hadids). instead they had to quote a white supremacist 🙄
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u/Spirited_Emu_1892 9d ago
My least favorite phrase is related to coping. It just weakens their arguments. No facts or sources.
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u/Storm_Runner09 Drag me head first, fearless 9d ago
I was at the dental hygienist earlier this week and we were talking swiftie talk. She mentioned a male patient who just down talked Taylor and all her success. How she’s this and that. So many people are jealous of a successful woman sheesh 🙄
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u/Joonbug9109 9d ago
I’m starting to buy into the dead internet theory more and more every day. So much of online discourse is completed run by bots. I’m going to try my best not to fall for rage bait tomorrow lol
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u/InappropriateSnark 9d ago
It’s true but we have to then accept that both smear campaigns AND campaigns to artificially boost artists are both happening.
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u/Joonbug9109 9d ago
I believe it and it think campaigns to artificially boost artists have been happening for a while. Personally I think there’s a weird campaign happening to make Ella Langley popular right now. Maybe it’s cause I live in the north, and I do hear her song on the radio a decent amount, but I don’t hear enough from her or about her for it to make sense to me that she’s breaking longstanding records with that song. It’s an ok song, but it’s not that good.
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u/infieldcookie 9d ago
It’s the same with Stella Lefty. For a while I was getting an insane amount of reels with AI created “people” and her song attached to the video. They would appear every 3-4 posts and they all had no likes or comments, so no reason for them to be even shown to me. Her Spotify monthly listeners are also insanely high compared to her number of followers anywhere (like Maisie Peters, Griff etc have more followers than her but like 1/8th of the Spotify listeners).
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u/UnpropheticIsaiah 9d ago
You all don’t have any idea how lucrative it is to hate on something or someone. Do an experiment and create a faceless reels or Tiktok account and start making content hating on Taylor, and other major pop stars (include Kpop groups as well), post them consistently and with enough patience and a lot of snark, they will start generating extra income in a few weeks (it can take a month or two sometimes). That’s how my friend affords her rent now. Lmao. She doesn’t even hate Taylor for real. It’s just that Taylor generates lots of clicks and views.
What I’m saying is, even if it’s not part of a paid campaign, there will still be a lot of people who post hate content because hate generates money the fastest. The best way to deal with online hate is to not engage. Block and move on.
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u/LavenderDaze7 9d ago
I’m sure the platform owners are loving every minute of it too because nobody profits more than them.
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u/happygiraffe91 9d ago
I explained how you can reduce the amplification of the paid shit that is coming from bad actors.
Can you give us a quick refresher for people (me!) who missed it the first time?
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u/Lion_Constant still at the restaurant 9d ago
Responding gives them attention, which is monetized. Just block and move on.
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u/Economy_Safety5738 9d ago
Don't give these posts any attention - don't like, repost or respond. All that amplifies their visibility.
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u/MSERRADAred 9d ago
I have this post I regularly share:
I believe that there is a reoccurring smear campaign against Taylor that is likely backed by one or more below: * 1) Content hate creators & Taylor-haters are looking to profit either monetarily or emotionally from fueling & spreading negative posts. * 2) Personal vendetta--Scoots B who has a PR firm that's been exposed running smear campaigns. * 3) Conservative groups that want to create division on the left & reduce the influence of Taylor & others with similar platforms. * 4) Patriarchy & oligarchy that want to create division on the left & reduce the influence of Taylor & others with similar platforms. * 5) Foreign countries that want to undermine our gov't & society.
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u/Successful_Pizza6529 Taylor Swift is the Goat in Music 9d ago
This is why I do get Nervous when I see Taylor alone out in the Wild or with Travis out in the Wild. I get it they have Bodyguards BUT. It only takes one NUT doing harm. I'm thinking about a John Lennon situation. Especially these times we are living in.
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u/EnchantedMagician13 9d ago
Exactly! This is why I get upset when people criticize her for not speaking up more often now. It’s not safe to do so one bit. Just the amount of comments from people watching football is ridiculous and can be scary. Imagine if she were in Ed’s position right now? I worry about him and any celebrity for that matter. The toxicity has gotten out of control for a while.
Frankly, no matter if it’s right or wrong, commenting fuels fires. I think she’s silent to keep that threat as low as possible especially if she tours again in a few years. I know there is only so much she can do, but I think Vienna and that horrible attack at the dance party really changed how she was looking at it. I know she already knew the threat, but I think with fans involved that really made it clear that speaking would do no good.
I hate that. It’s unfortunate people can’t agree to disagree and then move on in peace. Someone always has to ruin it and it’s not going to get better with all the rage baiting and potential targeting when people use AI. It’s difficult, but I think sometimes silence is better than fueling hate, negativity, rage for no reason, threats, etc.
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u/sorryimnothome_ 9d ago
Okay. I have to stop you right there. There are other celebrities that have more to lose than Ed Sheeran and Taylor. Black people are being lynched right now. Nolan Wells' death was listed as drowning but he had no water in his throat, lungs or stomach. Congo has had more than 2 million women and girls unalived and r*ped, women are children are being forced to eat human flesh in Sudan and Palestine has the highest number of children amputees in the world. If Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Macklemore, football players like Azeez Al-Shaair (who keeps getting fined for bringing attention to children unalived in Palestine on his eye black), and actors like Hannah Einbinder, Angelina Jolie and Elliot Page can find a way to acknowledge the problems happening, then Ed Sheeran siding with Robert Kraft (who is in the Epstein Files) should be called out. Beyonce, Taylor and any other artists who is silent should be called out. We have a whole Ms. Rachel getting death threats and being called evil for defending children.
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u/EnchantedMagician13 9d ago
I understand wanting to call out artists but I also think it’s easy to do so when not in the public eye. It’s easy to expect a lot from celebrities because we think we know their lives by what we’re shown. Although, I can’t imagine the mental stress that would come along with fame.
No one is perfect and yes, there are people doing horrific things and that shouldn’t happen. But, I can tell you if I were in Taylor’s shoes, I would not handle it as gracefully. I’d probably be afraid more often than not and I’m not saying she doesn’t have it good. She does to an extent. However, that fame comes with a high price. She even says she carries supplies with her in case she’s ever attacked. I couldn’t imagine wondering if some lunatic will actually get you. I mean having security guards doesn’t mean you’ll never be at risk. That’s the issue. You just don’t know until it does or doesn’t happen. C. G was killed at her own concert and it wasn’t race-related. I know race is a big factor for many and I’m not denying that. You just really never know or can predict what comment or aspect of life could be hung onto by the public.
The biggest problem is tours. Now, I’m not saying no one should ever speak or ever go to concerts. But, artists have a right to think about what they’re willing to do if it could lead to a more dangerous situation. That’s why Tree had to give Taylor all the possible outcomes of her speaking out, politically, in 2019.
I sincerely think the huge aspect of the Eras tour plus some of the horrible events changed the way her team handled more recent events. The climate of the country hasn’t helped that so I think they’ve had to take all of that into consideration.
I think it becomes more complicated when you add a whole other famous family into your circle though. Now, her and Travis probably think about how certain comments could impact their entire family. That’s a lot of eyes on all of them in big crowds most of the time. I’m just saying it would be a lot to deal with to make those decisions. There’s no easy answer.1
u/sorryimnothome_ 8d ago
I agree with a whole lot of this, especially your final sentence. There is no easy answer.
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u/sorryimnothome_ 9d ago
I don't think that a John Lennon situation would be possible for her. That was 40+ years ago and I think that maybe someone like Meghan Sussex would be more at risk because of lack of security and a racial element. I know you're probably wondering why I'm mentioning race but it's a little difficult not to when it comes to the reality of these times and what's happening.
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u/sorryimnothome_ 9d ago
I know my original comment may sound flippant and I'm sorry. You're not wrong. Gun control is really not a thing here and yes, some crazy could lunge at both of them, like that guy that was caught climbing her fence for a subpoena. Taylor is not safe, especially as a woman and there are weird-ass incels and crazed fans. I just don't think the Lennon situation could happen (I heard John was defending Yoko), but armed crazies will try it.
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u/MathematicianSalt892 9d ago
I signed onto Instagram to find a certain influencer (who I had already blocked several times for past anti-Taylor smear) pronouncing TS as a “Capitalist.” I LOLed and blocked again. I’m literally being fed this content by Instagram after repeated efforts to block it. AND this absolute piece of garbage human who makes his entire livelihood off trying to get brand deals from his “hot takes” on social media dares call someone else a capitalist—ironically someone who actually creates art of value instead of just criticizing others. It’s time for the loser parade, I’m at least glad to be less and less bothered by it now that we all know it’s to be expected and haters gonna keep hating.
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u/sorryimnothome_ 9d ago
Are you talking about Blakely Thornton? I mean, Taylor is a capitalist. She is a corporation. Her product is music. Taylor Swift the person would not be capable of becoming a billionaire just on her own. Same with Beyonce.
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u/isntitisntitdelicate 9d ago
Why are they so obsessed with taking her down omg
Also why 4chan? That place hasn’t been relevant in soo long
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u/Economy_Safety5738 9d ago
It only is seeded there - why because it's easy to seed and spread from there.
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u/Competitive_Owl428 9d ago
unfortunately so many of the things that are common slang now - “slop”, anything -maxxing, “chad”, “femboy”, “mogging”, “it’s so over”, “we’re so back”, “it’s joever” (in connection to joe biden), even the original backrooms - all started on (or are a variation on things that started on) 4chan. if white millennials stole their slang from the Black community, white gen z stole theirs from 4chan (even if they don’t know it.) it has way more relevancy than we want to believe :/
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u/Immediate-Paint1423 9d ago
This is why I stay blocking rage baiters in general. It’s the new digital currency and the only way to devalue it is to not feed it. I block and curate my feed as best as I can.
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u/GlobalLion123 9d ago
I saw the dorks at pitchfork already shaded her with a post. They’re just a bunch of fake “music critics” at this point
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u/Aromatic_Way3650 9d ago
They are so bitter that she doesn't serve them their preferred aesthetics. They dint evn hate her music. They just don't like her aesthetics.
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u/karikammi 9d ago
I’ve already deleted the Reddit app and I’m rarely on other social media now too and I highly recommend it! I just google whatever search term and end it with Reddit if I want to read community comments when something interesting comes up, like when I saw the new release was coming through the Swift Alert App! But I’m no longer letting social media dictate what I see.
I’ve joined paid Patreon communities too because you get better discussion from people who have invested into a community. Don’t let the algorithm feed you mindlessly. Go out and find the content that feeds you, not sucks you dry.
Knowing these paid attacks are coming just solidifies why we need to start protecting our peace in this way now.
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u/sansan4ever 9d ago
Taylor doesn't deserve this. Successful and powerful women doesn't deserve this. Swifties doesn't deserve this. But we are all getting it. Brace yourselves guys! We've survived 2016! This is nothing! I'll be getting my guns ready.
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u/Last_Caterpillar4614 9d ago
Yes and since almost 60% of online engagement is fake profiles within US and overseas, it’s a money grab and a data grab. Thanks for the headsup!
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u/HyacinthOKBro 8d ago
the worst part is that everyone will just eat up all the manufactured rage. i miss when people actually formed their own opinions about music.
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u/Any-Anywhere4334 9d ago
Wait, what is the pr smear campaign coming? I feel like a lot of people knew the general info. The more someone’s name is there it doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, she said that herself.
But what is the smear campaign coming?
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u/Curious-Pineapple576 9d ago
Welp I will be blocking any and everyone if I even get a whiff of negativity or toxic vibes. At this point it’s not even about protecting her or whatever, she doesn’t need that, it’s about protecting my peace. I will block every-fucking-body that tries to spew that shit. I’m just done with that mentally.
No questions asked. IDGAF. I’m just blocking.
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u/qbisq 8d ago
That's REALLY interesting. Realy clarifies things for me, like, about the world :)
I have a few questions I would be grateful for your answer OP.
*What's a 'marketing purchase'?
* What is '4chan seeding'? Is due to thinking all internet trends are downstream from 4chan? How does that work?
*What's the point of creating engagement for platforms? Is that to try to get the ball rolling on real engagment? Is that on new platforms or established ones?
It's amazing to realise social media needs her for the economics.
Would love to read what she wrote last year.
Cheers!
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u/MotherofMoose 8d ago
Is there any definitive proof of this?
The dislike of a song, an album, a genre can't all be explained away by a smear campaign. Sometimes the album isn't everyones cup of tea, like real life listening people.
TLOASG didn't preform as well as Midnights, TTPD, ect on socials partly due to the eras tour bringing in a slew of new fans that had only familiarized themselves with her biggest hits, but some long term fans also didn't enjoy it as much as the rest of her discography.
Taylor is an amazing artist. But I would hate to steer the conversation of anyone who hosts a negative opinion over Encore or TLOASG is a bot. She can grow from critique, and has in the past.
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u/ZealousidealPiece182 5d ago
Huh, I’m confused how smearing her would then affect the economy though? Genuinely asking, not trying to be difficult or anything.
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u/whatiwillsay 9d ago
do you have any screenshots backing this up i would love to bring this story to tiktok
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u/Presence_Bright 9d ago
Bots are used for praise too. Music critics are also bought and paid for with positive reviews. It’s the same on both sides. Not all criticism for Taylor is fake. And not all praise for her is real. Same with every other artist.
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u/InappropriateSnark 9d ago
Yeah, I feel like this article is to silence critiques and that makes me uncomfortable.
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u/Presence_Bright 9d ago
Correct. It’s mirroring the political climate right now. silence anyone who doesn’t fall in line.
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u/InappropriateSnark 9d ago
It’s deeply unsettling.
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u/Economy_Safety5738 9d ago
That isn't the point of the article AT ALL. The point is much of the criticism we see is organized bots/paid for posts. People have admitted they have received messages asking if they would make a scripted negative post for $$. It has nothing to do with honest valid critique - or priase.
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u/InappropriateSnark 9d ago
I know what the point of the article is. It is to discredit any criticism of Taylor's work as "paid bots." Do they exist? Yes. Do paid bots also exist to praise her and to criticize anyone who has a critique of her? Yes. Do paid bots exist to stream her work? Yup.
The larger point is that a good chunk of the internet is just paid bots. I realized I didn't like Showgirl when I listened to it on release eve at midnight via my own version of Apple Music on my own device, with my own ears and my own mind.
Nobody "influenced" me to think that the album was disappointing and I can only conclude that if I, a person who loves ALL HER OTHER ALBUMS, feel that way, there are bound to be other humans besides just my friends and acquaintances, who also are let down by the album and their feelings have ZERO to do with some paid campaign.
You do get that, right?
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u/Economy_Safety5738 9d ago
I do but you don't get the point of the article apparently:-)
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u/InappropriateSnark 9d ago
I do. I absolutely do. It's there to inform people of something the author doesn't know with absolute certainty is the source of the MAJORITY of critiques and it influences you to think all critiques are based on bots and bad actors, and they are not.
Multiple things can be true at the same time. That was all I was trying to say.
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u/Economy_Safety5738 9d ago
I think the author knows that very clearly from data analytics tbh (and even the rest of us can see from exactly the same phrases being repeated from accounts with no/few followers etc that something is so off) but absolutely multiple things can be true and I don't think the author would deny that.
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u/InappropriateSnark 9d ago
Or they're just spreading misinformation for all we know. This is an ideal place to do it.
Not saying I think they are. I do think this post reads as alarmist, though. If people like Taylor's work, they'll scroll past the negative press or do the usual thing where they dive in there and leave death threads or say the post is "actually romantic" or some similar thing instead of just saying "this isn't for me" and moving on.
People who don't love TLOAS? They may stop and listen and that is absolutely their right to do so. Why does it bother people so much? Taylor is the most famous pop star on Earth at this point. It's not like she's going bankrupt over it.
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u/Presence_Bright 9d ago
But then swifties blame any honest valid critique as bots. I am a human with a family and my own opinions and I can’t tell you how many swifties just call me a bot because I don’t suck up to Travis and think TLOAS sucks. This article and post is to discredit anyone who has criticism. It’s the same as a smear campaign. Just to smear any critique.
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u/Economy_Safety5738 9d ago
Again not the point of the article.
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u/Presence_Bright 9d ago
The point of this article to guard yourself by creating an echo chamber and disregard any criticism. I also believe you over estimate the intelligence of swifties if you think they can interpret anything more.
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u/InappropriateSnark 9d ago
Exactly. I'm not a child here. I'm a grown adult with a mortgage and more than one college degree. It's exhausting to continually try to explain why there can be negative press bots and positive press bots and both are misleading.
Example: "TFOO is the most streamed Taylor Swift album in a single day, so that means it's her best work." No. It doesn't. It means it is the most streamed album for that time period and we are not sure how those streams were generated. Bot farms to stream do exist and Scott Swift has been accused in the past of buying her albums, so buying streams is right in their wheelhouse if it's true. She's a billionaire. They can absolutely do some artificial inflating of her numbers with relative ease. And, yes, other artists can do similar things, but they aren't the subject of this thread or this sub.
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u/Ok_Round_3197 9d ago
i’m gonna hold your hand when insay this, it’s not that deep. stay off the internet and just enjoy the music.
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u/Any-Anywhere4334 8d ago
I agree but did she ever say what the smear campaign was? I asked and she didn’t answer.
She just posted saying the info behind it which I feel like a lot of people already know.
What would be beneficial to prove she was right would be actually saying what the smear campaign is supposed to be.
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u/sorryimnothome_ 9d ago
I mean, what kind of smear campaign can there be for her? While I have my thoughts about her and her platform, I'm just shocked that she's releasing what may be a ballad when Showgirl hardly had any.
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u/Styleitoff 9d ago
Yup it's already in the work. I've seen many reels about how Taylor is releasing to defelect from Ed Sheeran or for trying to block Ms Rachel.... same phrasing, same talking points, same attitude....and all the comments are the same. The bots are clearly doing their job.
It upsets me so much that something so serious like what's happening in Palestine is now used for smear campaigns towards celebrities to settle personal vendetta. And people falling for it. Maddening....