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Viral Misinformation
Fake NYT and Washington Post Captions Claim Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish Took Democratic Millions
A single X account spliced real Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish interview clips with invented New York Times and Washington Post captions claiming the singers took millions of dollars from Democrats. Neither payment happened.
FILED SEP 24, 2026 · UPDATED SEP 24, 2026 · 3 SOURCES
The Claim
On September 22, 2026, the X account @Emprender_Zrii posted a video dressed up as a New York Times report claiming Taylor Swift agreed to accept $500 million from Democrats in exchange for backing the party and endorsing gender reassignment surgery for minors [1][3]. The same account posted a companion clip stamped with a fake Washington Post logo claiming Billie Eilish had already banked $120 million from the Democratic Party [2][3]. Neither deal exists — both dollar figures were invented and pasted onto real, unrelated interview footage. [1][2][3] The posts spread fast in the run-up to the midterms, reaching hundreds of thousands of views before fact-checkers caught up [3].
The Evidence
Swift's clip is lifted from her genuine April 2026 New York Times interview about her songwriting process — identifiable by the black tank top she wore that day — but the actual interview transcript never mentions Democrats, a $500 million sum, or gender reassignment surgery [1]. Eilish's clip is pulled from a real December 2024 Vanity Fair interview, identifiable by the black-and-white jersey she's wearing, with a fabricated Washington Post logo and caption pasted over it [2]. Both outlets have no matching stories, and a search of Federal Election Commission disbursement records from 2020 through 2026 turns up no Democratic National Committee payment to either artist. [1][2][3]
Who's Spreading It
Both fabricated videos trace to the same account, @Emprender_Zrii, which posted the Eilish clip in Spanish before it was reshared and translated across X [2][3]. The posts landed days ahead of the midterms, fitting a pattern of fake celebrity-endorsement stories timed to election news cycles. [3] No credible outlet — not the Times, not the Post, not any wire service — has reported a Democratic payment to either singer [1][2].
The Verdict
SOURCES · 3
- [1]Lead Stories - FAKE Captions Added To Real New York Times Video Falsely Claim Taylor Swift Agreed To $500 Million Deal With Democrats
82/100 · leadstories.com
- [2]Lead Stories - FAKE Washington Post Captions Added to Real Vanity Fair Video Falsely Claim Billie Eilish Got $120 Million From Democrats
82/100 · leadstories.com
- [3]MEAWW - Fact Check: Did Democrats pay Billie Eilish $120M, offer Taylor Swift $500M ahead of midterms?
72/100 · news.meaww.com
MEBRO · DISINFO DESK · mebro.app
Investigative report — not a user-submitted fact-check.
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