There’s been no glitch. This claim about Taylor Swift is counterfeit

The number of Taylor Swift’s Instagram followers came under social media scrutiny after she  endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Sept. 10. 

We already fact-checked and found false a September claim that Harris lost 17 million followers because of the endorsement. Now viral Facebook posts suggest the singer-songwriter and pop music superstar is in meltdown mode.

"Taylor Swift blames Instagram for losing millions of followers after Harris endorsement: ‘It must be a glitch!" one such Oct. 1 post said. 

It was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

But there hasn’t been a glitch — it’s the claim that’s counterfeit.

Featured Fact-check

Instagram posts

stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post

"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth."

We found no evidence, such as credible news stories or public statements or social media posts from Swift, to corroborate this claim. 

It originated on a self-described satire page and is being shared out of context. 

Unlike the posts we’re fact-checking, the Sept. 23 post on the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook page clearly notes that it is "satire."

"Nothing on this page is real," the account’s intro says. 

Swift had more than 283 million Instagram followers when she endorsed Harris. About a week later, she had gained followers, clocking more than 284 million. As of Oct. 9, that number had dipped to about 283.9 million.

We rate claims that Swift blamed Instagram for losing followers, calling it a glitch, False.