Taylor Swift, one of the superstars currently dominating public attention. It’s no surprise that the media keeps mentioning her name and trying to capitalize on her moment of fame. Sometimes the female singer is also included in unrelated stories, turning her into a distraction for content creators.

Bond Benton, Associate Professor of Communication at Montclair State University, USA, has studied the effects of mentioning Taylor Swift in media stories. His research shows that “the presence of Swift in any media content increases the visibility of that content”.

The associate professor of communications offers a typical example through a September 2023 post from CBS News about a 400-pound stingray (about 180 kg) with the comparison “almost the height of Travis Kelce – you Taylor Swift’s rumored boyfriend”. Although the story about sea creatures has nothing to do with the singer and her star boyfriend, Taylor Swift was mentioned by name twice in the story. The post alone has been viewed nearly 3 million times on social network X.

“While I’m sure there is interest in a unique stingray, the reported 2.8 million views of . The Associate Professor said the presentation of this article is almost “memorable” and will make her fans and haters alike continue to debate her. 

Including Taylor Swift in stories even when she’s not the subject has been a pastime for content creators for a long time.
“No one attracts a larger audience than Swift at this time,” said Kate Blanton, a lecturer at the University of South Carolina, USA. Taylor Swift is truly everywhere: Her Eras Tour is the highest-grossing tour ever, and the film version recently became the highest-grossing concert film ever. Highest revenue of all time. Swift was named Person of the Year in 2023 and was Spotify’s most-streamed artist in 2023.

Because Swift is such a reliable attention-grabber, Bond Benton argues, media outlets will cover anything related to her. The smallest details about a celebrity’s life are always an interesting topic of discussion, and especially for Swift, it can become a huge marketing opportunity. 

“And other celebrities are asked about Swift almost constantly. During a W magazine awards show, journalist Lynn Hirschberg took the task to actors Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman and Da’Vine Joy Randolph reread “Blank Space,” a Grammy-winning song by Swift,” Bond Benton said. 

Not only that, little-known politicians even join this trend, because when the name Taylor Swift is mentioned, they will get everyone’s attention. In December 2023, lawmakers in Pennsylvania, where Swift was born, declared 2023 the “Taylor Swift era,” coinciding with her 34th birthday.

Fans at the Kansas City Chiefs game were only interested in whether Taylor Swift came to see boyfriend Travis Kelce play.
After Taylor Swift attended a Kansas City Chiefs game in the fall to support boyfriend Travis Kelce, the US National Football League (NFL) changed the banner photo on social network X to a trio of photos. painting her emotional reaction. Even head coaches of opposing teams, like Bill Belichick of the Patriots, faced questions regarding Swift at the pregame press conference.

Benton said the media seems to be “going overboard” by randomly including Swift in news stories: “Sure, putting Swift in a story will generate more views, but it seems Doing so in a ridiculous way will make the content “confusing”. Millions of Swift fans are looking for new information about this star, so the media should only exploit relevant information. directly,” Benton emphasized.