A rumor that pop star Taylor Swift had canceled a number of Eras Tour dates resulting from backlash from her endorsement of Kamala Harris within the 2024 U.S. presidential election circulated on-line in September 2024.
For instance, on Sept. 14, 2024, the Fb web page SpaceX Fanclub shared the declare in meme kind in a post (archived). On the time of this writing, the put up had obtained round 47,000 reactions and 18,800 feedback.
(Fb web page SpaceX Fanclub)
The meme consisted of a photograph collage of Harris and Swift paired with textual content studying:
Taylor Swift Cancels Eras Tour Dates After Endorsement Backlash: ‘Solely 2,300 Tickets Bought’
A pinned remark beneath the Fb put up shared a hyperlink to an article on Esspots.com (archived), which acknowledged:
The dramatic drop in ticket gross sales has left many questioning whether or not Swift’s political endorsement was the catalyst for the decline. Whereas some speculate that it is only a momentary dip and that Swift will recuperate, others imagine that this might mark a turning level for the celebrity’s profession.
Confronted with the tough actuality of dwindling ticket gross sales, Taylor Swift and her crew made the robust determination to cancel a number of future Eras tour dates. In an announcement launched on her web site, Swift defined the choice: “It is heartbreaking to should cancel these reveals, however I imagine it is one of the best determination for everybody. I’ve at all times prided myself on bringing individuals collectively by way of music, however proper now, it looks like the easiest way to try this is to take a step again.”
Variations of the rumor unfold on Threads and on X, in addition to on multiple other Facebook pages.
Some readers appeared to interpret rumor as a factual recounting of real-life occasions. For instance, one touch upon the Sept. 14 SpaceX Fanclub put up on Fb read: “Nice information. Karma.”
Nevertheless, there was no proof that Swift canceled any Eras Tour dates after she endorsed Harris in an Instagram post on Sept. 10, 2024.
Archived variations of Swift’s U.S. and worldwide tour schedules captured by the Web Archive’s Wayback Machine on Sept. 5, 2024, confirmed that Swift had a complete of 18 upcoming Eras Tour reveals scheduled previous to her endorsement of Harris: nine within the U.S. and nine in Canada. As of Sept. 17, 2024, all 18 reveals have been nonetheless listed as upcoming on Swift’s U.S.-based and
Moreover, a Google seek for the quote attributed to Swift within the Esspots.com article discovered no credible evidence that she had ever made such an announcement, whether or not on her web site or elsewhere.
Reasonably, the rumor about Swift canceling Eras Tour concert events resulting from backlash over her endorsement of Harris originated with Esspots.com — a web site that described its output as being humorous or satirical in nature. Its About page (archived) acknowledged:
Welcome to the U.S. web page of Esspots (A Subsidiary of SpaceXMania.com specializing in Satire and Parody Information), your one-stop vacation spot for satirical information and commentary about the US of America. Our crew of writers and editors is devoted to bringing you the newest and best in pretend information and absurdity, all with a wholesome dose of humor and satire.
Esspots.com and its related SpaceX Fanclub Fb web page, each of that are a part of the SpaceXMania community of internet sites and social media accounts, have a historical past of creating up tales for shares and feedback.
Snopes has addressed related satirical claims about Swift up to now, together with the assertion that Child Rock refused to let Swift onstage with him and a rumor that Swift misplaced $125 million in model offers after her “large endorsement.”
For background, right here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that decision their output humorous or satirical.
