A rumor circulated online in October 2024 that big box retailer Walmart canceled a line of children’s clothing from pop megastar Taylor Swift’s, a deal allegedly valued at $150 million, citing political reasons.
A Facebook post claimed: “Walmart Cancels $150 Million Taylor Swift Kids Clothing Line: ‘We Paid for a Star, Not a Political Sideshow.'”
(America – Love It or Leave It Facebook page)
Some users took the alleged news as fact, with one sharing the post and writing (archived), “Oh, well! That’s life! Another reason why we all vote in private. Not everyone is for your candidate.” Another person commented on the original post: “Whoa Walmart taking a stand!! Now that’s something to write about.”
Others, however, were skeptical: “Has this been confirmed? Doesn’t sound like Walmart.”
Indeed, while some users seemed to accept the rumor as truth, there was no evidence of Swift losing a deal with Walmart, or evidence of a deal to begin with. Likewise, no credible news source reported on the rumor.
The rumor originated with a Facebook post by America – Love It or Leave It — part of the America’s Last Line of Defense network of websites and social media pages that describes its output as being humorous and satirical in nature. The introduction on the page reads: “A subsidiary of the America’s Last Line of Defense network of trollery. Nothing on this page is real.”
The “About Us” section of latherland.com, a subsidiary of the America’s Last Line of Defense network that is linked from the America – Love It or Leave It Facebook page, states: “Everything on this website is fiction.”
The fictional story spread as a response to the pop star’s endorsement of U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Swift posted an endorsement of Harris to Instagram following the vice president’s debate with former President Donald Trump on Sept. 10, 2024.
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims about the alleged blowback from Swift’s political endorsement, including Coca-Cola cutting ties with the singer, Swift getting banned from country music, Swift losing 30 million followers and Swift losing $125 million in endorsement deals.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.
