US 2024 election live updates: Top Republican pressed over Trump’s crude remarks about famous golfer

Marianna Spring
Disinformation and social media correspondent

Noel Drake, a 29-year-old who lives in Utah, said she felt “very bleak” about politics before this year.

During the 2020 presidential election, she felt disillusioned entirely.

But Taylor Swift – and her fans – helped change her mind, she told me.

“With this sense of community that I have established through interacting with other Swifties online, it has really changed the way I interact with politics this election cycle,” she said.

After Swift endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris a month ago, Drake started following a fan-led campaign group called “Swifties for Kamala”. The group is not officially affiliated with the Harris campaign, but does keep in regular touch with campaign staff.

The BBC has tracked down dozens of voters like Drake, who say posts from Swift and her mega fans on social media have motivated them to go out and vote, or get involved in activism. But just because you’re a fan of Swift doesn’t mean you’re going to vote like her, I learned.

Part of the appeal of a celebrity endorsement – and the political content generated by their fandoms – is that unlike paid-for adverts, this kind of user-generated content feels genuine.

Endorsements can backfire, however, polls show.

Massachusetts resident Bri says she chooses to vote Republican still because “at the end of the day people need to do what’s best for them”.

She told me she thinks Swift has such a devoted fan base, she should stay out of politics to be fair to all sides.