A Donald Trump fan account, not the former president, posted photos of Taylor Swift crying

A TikTok video weighing in on recent news involving former President Donald Trump and singer-songwriter Taylor Swift gets some facts wrong. 

"So, Donald Trump posted this photo of Taylor Swift saying that she was crying because she lost over $150 million worth of merchandise boycotting because she endorsed Kamala Harris," a person in the video said. 

"Trump posts photo of Taylor Swift crying," read text in the video that also included a screenshot of an X post from an account called "Donald J. Trump News."

"BREAKING" the X post said. "Taylor Swift has lost an estimated 150 million dollars over the boycotting of her merchandise and memorabilia after she endorsed Kamala Harris for President."

A Threads post sharing this video 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.)

Here’s why it’s mistaken:

First, Trump didn’t publish the X post, which was since deleted. It was shared by @realTrumpNewsX, which says in its bio that it has "no affiliations with @realdonaldtrump." 

Trump has recently posted about Swift — "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!" on Truth Social, for example — but he didn’t post this. We also didn’t see any evidence on Trump’s X account that he reposted the photos and claim about Swift. 

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We found no credible evidence to support the claim that Swift has missed out on more than $150 million in merchandising income because she endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, in the 2024 presidential election. 

But it’s very similar to fake news that originated on a self-described satire site. A Sept. 12 blog post on Esspots that was labeled "satire" said: "Taylor Swift loses brand deals worth $125 million after the big endorsement."

Finally, the images of Swift used in the X post struck a nerve for some Swift fans and distressed the mother of a boy who died from cancer before his fourth birthday and inspired Swift to write a song about him. 

The photos are from 2012, when Swift grew emotional after performing the song "Ronan" at a Stand Up to Cancer telethon. 

We rate claims that Trump posted photos of Swift crying because she lost merchandise income False.