The post Coordinated Accounts Were Behind Taylor Swift Nazi Claims, Report Says appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Topline A series of bizarre online theories that coincided with the release of “The Life of a Showgirl” and claimed pop star Taylor Swift was a racist white supremist with MAGA connections were actually part of an online effort coordinated by accounts also connected to a campaign against Blake Lively last year, a new report suggests. Taylor Swfit speaks onstage during the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. Getty Images for The Recording Academy Key Facts A new report from GUDEA, a behavioral intelligence startup that tracks how viral reputation-damaging claims spread online, found the “Taylor Swift is a Nazi” narrative was pushed largely by “small bursts of coordinated activity” from disingenuous accounts meant to engage authentic users—and it worked. In response to the unsubstantiated theories that Swift was racist, a white supremacist and a secret Trump supporter, Swifties and other members of the mainstream audience jumped into the conversation and made thousands of genuine videos defending Swift, adding context and criticizing the irrationality of the conspiracy theories. Provoking authentic user discourse is “a hallmark of successful narrative manipulation,” the startup’s report says, and a prime example of a “cross-event amplification network” that injects misinformation into otherwise organic conversations, further spreading the lies. GUDEA’s report, which examined more than 24,000 posts and 18,000 accounts across 14 digital platforms in the two weeks after “Showgirl” released, found that fewer than 4% of accounts drove 28% of the conversation around Swift and the album, and pushed the most inflammatory Swift content. The inflammatory narratives increased in prevalence in the two weeks following the Oct. 3 release of “Showgirl,” per the report, with posts generated by inauthentic accounts rising from 10% in the first days after the album release to 40% within 10 days. GUDEA’s report did not theorize as to the identity of the… The post Coordinated Accounts Were Behind Taylor Swift Nazi Claims, Report Says appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Topline A series of bizarre online theories that coincided with the release of “The Life of a Showgirl” and claimed pop star Taylor Swift was a racist white supremist with MAGA connections were actually part of an online effort coordinated by accounts also connected to a campaign against Blake Lively last year, a new report suggests. Taylor Swfit speaks onstage during the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. Getty Images for The Recording Academy Key Facts A new report from GUDEA, a behavioral intelligence startup that tracks how viral reputation-damaging claims spread online, found the “Taylor Swift is a Nazi” narrative was pushed largely by “small bursts of coordinated activity” from disingenuous accounts meant to engage authentic users—and it worked. In response to the unsubstantiated theories that Swift was racist, a white supremacist and a secret Trump supporter, Swifties and other members of the mainstream audience jumped into the conversation and made thousands of genuine videos defending Swift, adding context and criticizing the irrationality of the conspiracy theories. Provoking authentic user discourse is “a hallmark of successful narrative manipulation,” the startup’s report says, and a prime example of a “cross-event amplification network” that injects misinformation into otherwise organic conversations, further spreading the lies. GUDEA’s report, which examined more than 24,000 posts and 18,000 accounts across 14 digital platforms in the two weeks after “Showgirl” released, found that fewer than 4% of accounts drove 28% of the conversation around Swift and the album, and pushed the most inflammatory Swift content. The inflammatory narratives increased in prevalence in the two weeks following the Oct. 3 release of “Showgirl,” per the report, with posts generated by inauthentic accounts rising from 10% in the first days after the album release to 40% within 10 days. GUDEA’s report did not theorize as to the identity of the…