An AI-assisted analysis found that internet rumors claiming Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” album subtly promoted white supremacy were driven by bots and bad actors.

Researchers at Gudea studied 24,679 social media posts from 18,213 users on 14 platforms between Oct. 8 and Oct. 14. Swift’s 12th original album dropped Oct. 3. They found that a small number of dubious accounts drove narratives that sucked in social media users wanting to participate in a heated discussion that seemingly lacked merit.

“While the majority of users behaved typically, 3.77% exhibited non-typical behavior amplifiers and accounted for 28% of the conversation volume, suggesting coordinated influence,” Gudea’s report concluded.

Researchers said that 3.77% “disproportionately shaped discourse volume.”

The

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