CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ahead of the November election, Donald Trump posted an image of pop superstar Taylor Swift allegedly supporting him.
The former president posted on the social media platform Truth Social that shows four different images from other users. In one of the images, there is an artificial intelligence-generated picture of Taylor Swift with the caption "Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump."
THE QUESTION
Is Taylor Swift endorsing former President Donald Trump in this election?
THE ANSWER
Swift has not endorsed any candidate yet.
OUR SOURCES
- Taylor Swift's social media pages
- Political Professor Scott Huffmon
WHAT WE FOUND
Swift endorsed President Joe Biden when he ran against Trump in 2020. However this election, Swift hasn't endorsed a candidate on her social media pages yet.
The picture with an AI version of Swift was originally posted by a different user before Trump shared it. But can candidates freely use celebrities' likenesses when it comes to campaigning?
"She can sue for the use of her image to seem to promote a product or a candidate," Huffmon said.
Huffmon said this falls under the right to publicity which is a legal right that protects a person's identity from unauthorized commercial use.
"Certainly, the person who made it is in legal jeopardy, but Trump, by sending it out from his official account, can be taken to task for that, too," Huffmon explained. "It makes it an official declaration of his candidacy for his election campaign. The Trump team and whomever made it could be at legal risk."
Huffmon said a safer way this could be used is clearly stating it was a parody.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.