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How the Kamala Harris campaign is engaging with Taylor Swift’s fans

Irene Kim Irene Kim in Swifties for Kamala salesIrene Kim

Irene Kim says Swifties can help win Kamala Harris the vote

Taylor Swift recently nominated Kamala Harris – but it’s not just her vote that Harris is following, but millions of her fans.

In the weeks before Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris on Instagram, the gears had already started shifting for millions of Swift fans to become loyal Harris voters.

Soon after Harris announced her intention to run for president, Irene Kim, 29, who spends up to 14 hours a day talking to fellow Swifties online and has attended more than five of Taylor Swift’s Eras concerts, sprang into action. Along with other big supporters of Harris, they created social media accounts, memes, montages, and newsletters, all in an effort to help their favorite candidate win the election.

I was venturing into the land of Swifties ahead of the Presidential vote on the second season of BBC Radio 4’s Why Do You Hate Me USA podcast. Subscribe to the podcast for upcoming episodes. I will be investigating how the online world of social media is shaping the US election. And when it comes to social media, Taylor Swift’s fans are considered the leaders of the pack.

Now the executive director of the Swifties for Kamala campaign, Ms. Kim decided to get involved because she wants the US to see its first female president and believes that Kamala Harris will “protect our rights, the rights of our friends, our family members”.

With over 3,500 volunteers, Swifties in Kamala can be seen as a seasoned political activist. The group has raised more than $165,000 (£126,000) through the campaign since it began tracking donations on August 1.

But Ms. Kim, who says she has never participated in political campaigns like this before, thinks everyone came together in a really “natural” way. They are using the skills they say they have developed – from planning to buy tickets for the sold-out Eras tour and selling merchandise such as signed Taylor Swift records – to try to win the election.

The Swifties for Kamala group is run by volunteers and is independent of the Harris campaign, but they have been in contact with them.

The conversations are “surprisingly more common than you would expect,” Ms. Kim said. They’re not entirely about the online world either – they’re about translating that into real-world action.

“They are there [the campaign] to help facilitate things like registering volunteers and helping us coordinate volunteer training,” said Ms. Kim. Not just for in-person campaigning but also for text and phone banking.

“We can make requests. We really wanted a picture of Doug [Kamala’s husband] we stand behind Kamala to do something like ‘let her be attacked’.

The BBC reached out to the Harris campaign for comment, but it did not respond.

The online world is a key battleground for both campaigns, and memes and videos from supporters feel more authentic than paid ads that can be more effective in reaching younger, disengaged voters.

An army of Swifties could be a way for the Harris campaign to go head-to-head with Donald Trump’s already active base of online supporters. They function a bit like a fandom as well, and have succeeded in churning out endless memes and pictures of the former president. Endorsements from – for example – tech boss Elon Musk have also sent a dedicated army of Musk followers X Trump’s way again.

All of that keeps Donald Trump at the top of social media feeds. But that can backfire.

In another meme, the former president shared on social media, an AI-generated photo of Swift endorsed by Trump.

In her Instagram post confirming Kamala Harris, Taylor Swift clearly pointed out the misleading images of her support for Trump as a reason to speak out now.

“It has brought me to the conclusion that I must come forward with my real plans for this election as a voter. The easiest way to fight lies is the truth,” he said in his post, which has been liked more than 10.7m times.

While Swift’s endorsement specifically told her fans that “your research is yours alone, and the choice is yours to make”, Kamala’s Swifties are hoping that the invitation to vote will translate to votes for Harris.

Ms. Kim says the group didn’t know the approval was coming, but they planned it anyway, hoping it would generate a lot of new volunteers.

Since the deployment, “it’s been crazy in the best way,” he says.

According to Ms. Kim, they have seen an increase in the number of people registering to vote and “a huge improvement in social media” as a result of their approval. He also said it was a “huge boost” for the Swifties who took part in the group.

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Taylor Swift’s online supporters also have a reputation for giving up on her no matter what it takes – and that can include being cruel to those they see as her enemies.

Will they be trampling on Trump supporters? Ms. Kim says that the group has actually come up with its own goals in this regard to try to prevent it from happening.

“They are more focused on behaving in a respectful manner and not engaging in online hate. And that includes not posting hate. Have a respectful conversation,” said Irene.

There are Trump Swifties, there are Harris fans. Some Swifties of Trump’s accounts have been suspended – although they currently have fewer followers than Kamala’s Swifties.

Several profiles of Taylor Swift fans who support Trump have written about her endorsement saying it hasn’t changed their minds about who they will vote for.

Ms Kim says they want to reach as many voters as possible – and hope their shared love of Swift will help them find the same thing for Harris.

“We don’t want to make anyone feel alienated or alienated,” he explains. She thinks Kamala’s Swifties could be particularly useful in reaching “conservative women” who are “recognizing that the political beliefs they were raised with don’t always align with what they hear and believe”.

So, will the Swifties affect the presidential race?

The group has had hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok, but that doesn’t mean those voters are based in the US either. And they may have been people who were already planning to vote for Kamala Harris.

Still, in an election that can be decided by just a few hundred thousand votes in a few states, any improvements in voter registration and voter turnout may scale.

Younger voters, who make up the majority of Swift’s fans, have historically had a smaller turnout, meaning there is more room for gains.

Ms Kim thinks Swifties and their social media knowledge are a secret weapon.

“I would never have imagined this in my wildest dreams. We’ve had a lot of times where we’ve, like, taken a step back to be like him, I think we’re actually making a difference and that’s like really cool. “

What will happen next? And how is the world of social media shaping the US election? Subscribe to Why Do You Hate Me USA on BBC Sounds. Episodes coming soon.

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