On Aug. 31, 2024, the Fb account American Liberty posted a meme claiming that the Nation Music Corridor of Fame had introduced it will not contemplate singer Taylor Swift for induction.
The textual content of the meme learn: “The Nation Music Corridor of Fame Says it Will not Think about Taylor Swift or Her ‘Bubblegum Music’ for Induction.”
(Fb web page American Liberty)
As of this writing, the submit had acquired round 1,700 reactions and 351 feedback, some left by readers who appeared to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life occasions. One commenter wrote: “She’s about as nation as Led Zeppelin.”
Different readers spoke up in protection of Swift’s nation bona fides, with one writing: “Her first album was nation, and the tune Tim McGraw was a success, and she or he collaborated with nation artists, a minimum of she’s not Beyoncé.”
Nonetheless, there was no proof that the Nation Music Corridor of Fame had ever made any assertion relating to its intention to contemplate — or not contemplate — Swift for membership.
A Google seek for the phrases “Taylor Swift,” “Nation Music Corridor of Fame,” and “bubblegum music” returned no coverage of such a declare from any respected media outlet. The identical search without quotation marks returned a debunking of a virtually equivalent meme that was posted by the Fb web page America’s Final Line of Protection (ALLOD) in early 2024.
(Fb web page America’s Final Line of Protection)
Within the feedback on that earlier submit, which had acquired round 10,000 reactions on the time of this writing, an administrator of the account posted a hyperlink to an article on Latherland.com, an internet site related to ALLOD. That article started:
Taylor Swift’s day simply bought worse. After the Academy of Nation Music lower its ties together with her, the Nation Music Corridor of Fame introduced it will take away all of her “bubble gum music” from consideration.
“She tosses a twangy tune in right here and there to maintain her spot within the Academy and the awards coming in,” stated Academy Sergeant at Arms Joe Barron, “It does not matter if she deserves it or not. If Taylor Swift will get nominated, Taylor Swift wins.”
Not anymore. With out an Academy membership, there are not any awards. With out its blessing, there are not any inductions. Swift loses a bit of her legacy she’ll by no means get again.
“She did it to herself,” stated Vince, a man visiting the museum, “Had she not come out and illegally used her affect to push folks into exercising their constitutional proper to vote, Trump would have gained. It is that straightforward. They need to have a phrase for that form of nonsense.”
In each circumstances, the rumor that the Nation Music Corridor of Fame had disqualified Swift from consideration for induction originated from ALLOD — a community of social media accounts and web sites that describe their output as satirical in nature. The American Liberty Fb web page’s Intro part said:
“A subsidiary of the ALLOD community of trollery. Nothing on this web page is actual.”
The Latherland.com article, which was reposted on a minimum of one different website affiliated with ALLOD, contained different clues that the story was not factual. First, membership within the Nation Music Corridor of Fame is determined by electors of the Nation Music Affiliation (CMA) — not the Academy of Nation Music, as claimed within the article.
Second, there was no proof that the CMA makes use of the title “Sergeant at Arms” for any of the members of its Board of Directors — though the Academy of Nation music, which has no affiliation with the Nation Music Corridor of Fame, does.
Third, no matter title, there was no particular person named Joe Barron on probably the most lately obtainable list of the CMA’s Board of Administrators. The title “Joe Barron” has, nevertheless, appeared regularly in false tales originating from ALLOD-affiliated web sites. In claims originating from the community that Snopes has beforehand investigated, Joe Barron has been named, incorrectly, because the head coach of the New York Jets, the president of the NCAA, and the CEO of DirecTV, amongst many other examples.
As defined on the Nation Music Corridor of Fame and Museum’s official website, yearly CMA electors vote to induct one “Veterans Period Artist” and one “Fashionable Period Artist” to the Corridor of Fame. A musician turns into eligible for consideration as a Veterans Period Artist 45 years after they first achieved nationwide prominence, whereas eligibility as a Fashionable Period Artist begins 20 years after the artist first achieved nationwide prominence.
The Nation Music Corridor of Fame and Museum didn’t outline on its web site precisely what normal was used to measure “attaining nationwide prominence,” however Swift’s first album, “Taylor Swift,” and her first single, “Tim McGraw,” have been each launched in 2006, suggesting that the earliest yr the singer could possibly be thought-about for induction as a Fashionable Period Artist could be 2026.
Snopes has addressed comparable satirical claims about Taylor Swift that originated from ALLOD-affiliated accounts and websites previously, together with the assertion that 4 venues canceled Swift live shows due to profanity considerations and a rumor that Swift had a youthful sister who acquired $63K in scholar mortgage forgiveness.
For background, right here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that decision their output humorous or satirical.
