Pentagon officials have clearly been spending too much time online.
According to a report from Politico, the Pentagon has felt the need to weigh in on the recent wave of conspiracy theories about pop star Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce, who plays as a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Following aggressive media coverage of Kelce and Swift's embrace following the Chiefs' victory against the Baltimore Ravens that secured its place in the Super Bowl, certain right-wing influencers started positing the theory that their relationship is all part of a psychological operation (or psyop) aimed at helping Joe Biden to win a second term in the White House.
The theory goes that Swift, who in recent years has become an outspoken left-wing activist and supporter of the Democratic Party, is being artificially promoted by the deep state to help secure the votes of impressionable young people needed to guarantee Biden's victory.
While Swift's fans are mostly female, Kelce is understood to be tasked with the accompanying role of attracting young male football fans into the arms of the Democratic Party, presumably so that together they can form an all-powerful super couple who help push progressive ideas and politicians even further into the mainstream.
The post concludes: "It's all been an op since day one."
Also part of the theory is that after rigging the Super Bowl for the Chiefs, Swift will once again come onto the field and issue a passionate endorsement of Joe Biden.
Any self-respecting government official would surely decline to humor such a ludicrous theory. Yet, despite sounding farfetched, the Pentagon has evidently taken it seriously enough to issue a full-throated denial.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told Politico:
We know all too well the dangers of conspiracy theories, so to set the record straight — Taylor Swift is not part of a DOD psychological operation. Period.
I’m sure she has other chief priorities, as do we, which is why we continue to urge Congress to complete the passage of a budget and our supplemental request so we can move the ball down field and across the goal line in support of critical national security priorities.
Meanwhile, another administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, described it as a typical "MAGA conspiracy theory.
“The absurdity of it all boggles the mind,” he said. “It feels like one of those ‘tell me you are a MAGA conspiracy theorist, without telling me you are a MAGA conspiracy theorist’ memes.”
A third official did manage to see the funny side, joking that the department could only dream of being "so lucky" as to have Swift helping with their recruitment efforts.
In fairness to the Pentagon, this theory has indeed been given credence by Fox News host Jesse Watters, who raised question about her suspiciously rapid rise in popularity.
“Have you ever wondered why or how she blew up like this?” Watters asked. "It’s real. The Pentagon psy-op unit pitched NATO on turning Taylor Swift into an asset for combating misinformation online."
The Pentagon also responded at the time, but this time with a more playful tone. "As for this conspiracy theory, we are going to shake it off," Singh remarked.