Taylor Swift may not be part of a DOD PSYOP Campaign, but the Biden Campaign definitely wants her to be a part of their 2024 Presidential Campaign
We live in strange times. Strange times that the Department of Defense is releasing statements that they are not running a Psychological Operations Campaign on the American people using the most well-known global pop star in the world.
"We know all too well the dangers of conspiracy theories, so to set the record straight--Taylor Swift is not part of a DOD Psychological Operation. Period," DOD Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said during a press briefing.
That seems like an odd thing to have to say and even more odd that DOD would be spending anytime at all on the subject, but in an era where sources of information doesn't have some kind of agenda, nothing is surprising, is it?
But let's start with what is a psychological operation or PSYOP, what is it exactly? |
PSYOP is a military term and part of an information operation military campaign to convey selected information and indicators to audiences to influence their motives and objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, organizations, groups and large foreign entities or powers.
In warfare, its intended use is to reduce the enemy's morale and will to fight. This can include tactics related to fear and intimidation, deception, and or surprise through the use of the threat of force, deception of fake plans or ghost armies, information such as pamphlet or flyer drops or the use of music or other noise through large speaker systems.
One of the more famous PSYOP operations in world history would be Chinggis Khan and the Mongols who terrified cities from the Pacific Ocean to present-day Ukraine. Khan used effective psychological warfare against targeted cities by offering a deal of surrender and pay tribute to the Mongol Empire or face total annihilation. In order to ensure most decided surrender and taxation tribute, the Moguls made sure to leave a few survivors from each annihilated city to spread the word of the brutality they would bring.
But PSYOP's doesn't always have to be a promised real threat of use of brutal force. In more modern times during Desert Storm, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf gave the media details of a made-up plan of an amphibious assault of Marines storming the beaches of Iraqi-occupied Kuwait and pushing west toward Baghdad. The media was furious that they were deceived and used in a PSYOP operation, but it was successful and no doubt saved American troops' lives.
While much of PSYOPs is intended to frighten or deceive, some is just intended to tire them out like the U.S. military did during the 1989 invasion of Panama to oust drug kingpin dictator Manuel Noriega. To break Noriega's will, the military blasted hard rock at full volume at the embassy until Noriega eventually surrendered.
The US continued the use of loudspeaker psyops during Desert Storm using Humvee-mounted speakers to convince Iraqi soldiers to surrender to a much smaller force of U.S. Marines.
So, unless DOD is planning on blasting Taylor Swift songs through loudspeakers at Donald Trump rallies, I highly doubt she is part of a DOD PSYOP plan.
Now, if you remove the military and warfare aspect out of PSYOP, what do you have? Sounds like a marketing campaign or dare I say political campaign, like maybe a presidential campaign where they would definitely use selected information and indicators to audiences to influence their motives and objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of organizations or groups.
Insert Taylor Swift, a recent poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for Newsweek, shows nearly 1 in 5, 18 percent of swifties say they are "more likely" or "significantly more likely" to vote for a candidate Swift endorses.
Is Taylor Swift an indicator and asset of influence to the Joe Biden 2024 campaign? Absolutely! And they'd be insane not to accept, exploit, hype up and use her endorsement to influence certain voting blocks of people.
And they know it. From the New York Times, Jan 29, 20224:
Inside Biden’s Anti-Trump Battle Plan (and Where Taylor Swift Fits In)
Watching Donald Trump ascend, the newly energized Biden campaign is aiming to make the general election all about him. It’s also hoping for some big endorsements.
"The campaign has begun discussions with celebrities and social media stars about promoting Mr. Biden on Instagram and TikTok. When Mr. Biden took a fund-raising swing through Southern California in December, the campaign carved out time to meet with influencers to pitch them on posting pro-Biden content. There are also plans, first reported Sunday by NBC News, to hold a fund-raiser with two Democratic former presidents: Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
The biggest and most influential endorsement target is Ms. Swift, 34, the pop sensation and N.F.L. enthusiast, who can move millions of supporters with an Instagram post or a mid-concert aside. She endorsed Mr. Biden in 2020 and, last year, a single Instagram post of hers led to 35,000 new voter registrations. Fund-raising appeals from Ms. Swift could be worth millions of dollars for Mr. Biden."
"The chatter around Ms. Swift and the potential of reaching her 279 million Instagram followers reached such intensity that the Biden team urged applicants in a job posting for a social media position not to describe their Taylor Swift strategy — the campaign had enough suggestions already. One idea that has been tossed around, a bit in jest: sending the president to a stop on Ms. Swift’s Eras Tour."
"The chatter around Ms. Swift and the potential of reaching her 279 million Instagram followers reached such intensity that the Biden team urged applicants in a job posting for a social media position not to describe their Taylor Swift strategy — the campaign had enough suggestions already. One idea that has been tossed around, a bit in jest: sending the president to a stop on Ms. Swift’s Eras Tour."
You imagine, Joe Biden stumbling on to the stage, sniffing hair at a Taylor Swift concert?
Meanwhile, at the Baltimore Sun, they know what the deal is. They want to dump Kamala Harris and put Swift on the ticket. I know it's reader commentary, but the Sun printed it.
Save Democracy with Dumbocrazy. Biden Swift 2024. Do we make the bumper stickers after the Biden Sniff concert tour or before?
But the reality is all campaigns, whether it's media, marketing, advertising, political or military psyop are similar that they use information peddled by influencers to manipulate behavior, and that's no conspiracy theory.
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