International pop sensation Taylor Swift already has an answer for her critics from her hit single “Shake It Off.” She sings, “And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.”
Ms. Swift certainly isn’t a stranger to the haters, especially on social media, where hardly a week goes by without some rumors making the rounds—including that she is openly promoting witchcraft and Satanism at her concerts. In many ways, it could be suggested it is a reflection of her fame, especially in the social media era.
“When access to someone that is globally successful is all-encompassing, the level of visibility inevitably attracts scrutiny and criticism. And Taylor Swift is not just successful in one aspect of her life, but seemingly all of them at this moment,” explained Ronn Torossian, chairman and founder of the New York City-based public relations firm 5WPR.
“The public will always have strong opinions about celebrities who are highly successful, and some find Swift’s level of success to be unnatural. For some reason, people don’t want to believe that she is simply an incredibly hard-working and talented worker.”
Social Media Amplifies The Haters
The posts on social media of Swift flashing a satanic hand signal or promoting witchcraft repeatedly trend, but in part that’s only because the evidence is cherry-picked.
“Rumors thrive because some folks on social media have the investigative skills of a potato and the imagination of a scriptwriter on a caffeine binge. Social media platforms are breeding grounds for wild theories that grow like weeds and people will do anything for clickbait,” warned Nina Vargas, celebrity business strategist, stylist, and online creator.
That included those who felt the snake imagery on her album Reputation was easily presented as ties to witchcraft and the dark arts.
“Everything from her choice of wardrobe to her lyrics is scrutinized as if she’s hiding a devil’s handbook in her guitar case,” added Vargas. “With everyone forgetting that there is a production manager, creative director, stylist, and a ton of other folks who also have a say in what will ‘trend’ to make it exciting and ‘fresh.'”
Vargas also pointed to the now infamous “Look What You Made Me Do” video, which had a dark and almost gothic mode to it. “It’s a far cry from performing pentagram rituals. When she sings ‘I got a list of names, and yours is in red underlined’—it sounds a bit menacing. But, folks, it’s just cathartic revenge pop, not an incantation.”
This level of hate towards Swift—likely driven in no small part due to her politics—likely couldn’t exist with social media. Yet as Katya Varbanova, viral marketing and public relations expert added, “Social media on its own doesn’t make something more believable. People and viral trends do.”
Haters Gonna Hate And Their Voice Is Amplified
As long as there have been pop stars—something that existed even with classical music composers like Mozart and Beethoven—there have been rabid fans. At the same time, some musicians have been despised and loathed by large segments of the population. The difference is that no one generally forms an anti-fan club. Social media has filled that void.
“Without social media, Taylor Swift’s so-called ‘hate’ would be on a much smaller scale,” explained Varbanova. “The power behind the platforms is that they simply amplify and accelerate rumors, turning minor speculations into trending topics: leading to instant gratifications. That is why when a rumor shared sticks, people jump on it to also trend. In the pre-social media era, these wild theories would likely be confined to fan magazines and communal gossip, rather than reaching global viral status.”
That in turn is why the rumors of witchcraft and Satanism won’t die on social media, where some say the evidence is in plain sight—at least to them. The pairing of that evidence with the established baseline dislikes results in those finding more reasons not to like or trust Ms. Swift.
“The outcome is what psychologists call the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, also known as the frequency illusion, where once you see something once, you see it everywhere and you’re more than likely to pay notice it and as a result, believe it,” said Varbanova. “Social media makes these more believable not because of the platform itself, but because of the virality of the content and the people who spread it!”
A Cambridge University study found that social media amplifies negative content twice as much as positive content.
“Negative content is simply more triggering, and therefore more likely to get people to comment,” suggested Vargas. “The more comments a piece of content has, the more the platform pushes it out in the algorithm and lets it go viral.”
So far Taylor Swift has largely ignored the controversy on social media, and perhaps she is just going to shake it off.
“There is no reason for Taylor to give any attention to the commentary on social media. She has a smart team behind her, monitoring for anything worth engaging with,” Torossian added. “If ever there is an issue or comment worth Swift’s attention, they will be sure to let her know and construct a well-thought-out response.”
