{"id":5698,"date":"2024-02-11T18:15:48","date_gmt":"2024-02-11T18:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/?p=5698"},"modified":"2024-02-11T18:15:48","modified_gmt":"2024-02-11T18:15:48","slug":"conspiracy-theories-are-the-result-of-two-sets-of-hardcore-fans-colliding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/index.php\/conspiracy-theories-are-the-result-of-two-sets-of-hardcore-fans-colliding\/","title":{"rendered":"conspiracy theories are the result of two sets of hardcore fans\u00a0colliding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Melissa Avdeeff<\/a>, University of Stirling<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

At Super Bowl LVIII, Taylor Swift will appear on the field at Allegiant Stadium after her boyfriend Travis Kelce\u2019s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, wins the game. But she won\u2019t be performing. Swift\u2019s appearance will be a Pentagon-backed psy-op to turn the rigged game into a calculated political endorsement, to secure the 2024 presidential election for Joe Biden. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At least, this is what conspiracy theorists are predicting will happen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Swift, Kelce and the NFL have all been targets of conspiratorial thinking before. Swift has been accused of queerbaiting<\/a> (hinting at LGBTQ+ identity without coming out) and neo-Nazi allegiances<\/a> after far right websites made memes out of her lyrics.<\/p>\n

Kelce fell victim to vaccine-sceptic theories about \u201ckiller injections\u201d when he endorsed the COVID vaccine<\/a>. And some people have claimed that the NFL is scripted<\/a> and rigged.<\/p>\n

It is not unusual for conspiracy theories to emerge in response to political, media or entertainment events. And the convergence of two American institutions \u2013 Taylor Swift and the NFL \u2013 is a perfect storm. <\/p>\n

Why people believe conspiracy theories<\/h2>\n

Belief in conspiracy theories is not necessarily tied to levels of intelligence or political affiliation<\/a>. But research<\/a> shows that these types of beliefs are more common in people who tend to use intuitive, rather than critical, thinking.<\/p>\n

Linked to this is proportionality bias<\/a>, a tendency to correlate major events with major consequences. It is associated with conspiracy theories as people search for simple answers to make sense of complicated situations.<\/p>\n

The Swift-NFL conspiracy theories are fuelled by the fact that highly publicised people and events are involved. I am currently researching the relationship between Swift, the press and public opinion for a forthcoming volume on Swift edited by Paula Harper<\/a>, Kate Galloway<\/a> and Christa Bentley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I am examining the journalistic practice<\/a> of selecting contentious tweets as evidence of public opinion<\/a> to support controversial narratives about Swift.<\/p>\n

This builds on my previous research<\/a> exploring social media reactions to Swift\u2019s LGBTQ+ allyship in \u201cYou Need to Calm Down\u201d. I have found that, while online posts about Swift are mostly neutral about the artist, this is often downplayed in the press in favour of over-reporting on controversy.<\/p>\n

America\u2019s sweetheart, or a target for sexism?<\/h2>\n

The Super Bowl conspiracy theories also appear to be influenced by political and sexist attitudes. Swift has long been a symbol of \u201cAmericana\u201d, but one that is increasingly outwardly liberal, and told through the point of view of a young woman. As researchers Mary Fogarty and Gina Arnold<\/a> note: \u201cTaylor may be a monument to an old, white America, but she\u2019s also an avatar of a future that is female.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the world has watched conservative politicians erode women\u2019s rights<\/a> in the US, we cannot ignore the fact that Swift is a powerful, billionaire, woman whose fans are mostly women<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Swift has now entered another distinctly American space \u2013 the NFL \u2013 whose fans have historically tended to be conservative<\/a>. In doing so, she complicates an \u201cus v them\u201d mentality defined by excessive nationalism<\/a>, as seen in far-right conservative spaces.<\/p>\n

Swift has demonstrable power within the music industry, not only through her fan support, but also in how she has fought for better streaming service royalties<\/a> for artists and rerecorded her albums<\/a> in a battle over rights to her music.<\/p>\n

She also has political power, contributing to a record-breaking voter registration day<\/a> with one Instagram post.<\/p>\n

It is difficult not to see this new conspiracy theory as partly an attempt to downplay the success of a powerful woman, by implying that her increased popularity over the past two years is the result of a government conspiracy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Clashing fandoms: Swifties v NFL fans<\/h2>\n

A vocal minority of NFL fans have complained that Swift is receiving too much airtime<\/a> during games. But it is not just Swift who is disrupting the NFL, it is also her fans: the \u201cSwifties\u201d. <\/p>\n

I have previously published research<\/a> about the clashes that occur when young girls and women move into male-dominated fan spaces. New female fans are criticised for not being \u201ctrue\u201d fans or participating in the \u201ccorrect\u201d way.<\/p>\n

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