Is Taylor Swift giving away free $1,000 Visa gift cards? No, that's not true: A video on social media that shows footage of Swift has an artificially generated version of her voice making the claim about the give-away. In the original video of Swift from a 2020 interview, she never says she is giving away Visa gift cards.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on Facebook on January 16, 2024. It opened:
I am in such a positive place right now and I want to lend a helping hand, so I'm giving away FREE $1000 VISA Gift Cards!
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of the writing of this fact check:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Fri Jan 19 22:46:22 2024 UTC)
The video opens with Swift speaking. While her mouth movements match the audio, the movement looks as though it has been digitally altered.
The audio says:
Hey guys, it's Taylor Swift here. I am in such a positive place right now and I want to share my good fortune with everyone since times are so tough. I want everyone watching to start 2024 off right and, to do that, I am giving away free $1,000 Visa gift cards to the first 10,000 people that see this video. If you are still seeing this video that that means that we still have gift cards available to give away. All you have to do is press the get offer button below, then take the three-question survey to see if you qualify. These are going to be given out through the end of today only, so do not hesitate as supplies are running out. Good luck, everyone.
Using a screenshot from the video, Lead Stories searched (archived here) Google Images and matched the screenshot to a video posted on TikTok (archived here). In that video, Swift spoke about "champagne problems." A search for that term led to an article posted on Bustle (archived here) about an interview Swift did with Apple Music's Zane Lowe. That article linked to an E! News story (archived here) that had a link to the interview Swift did.
The interview, which was posted on YouTube on December 15, 2020 (archived here). shows Swift wearing a beige V-neck sweater with her hair in a small braid. She is sitting on a red cushioned seat with a small statue over her left shoulder and a mural on the wall behind her. This screenshot from the video posted on YouTube matches the outfit and settting of the Swift video posted on Facebook:
(Source: YouTube screenshot taken on Fri Jan 19 21:32:44 2024 UTC)
At no time during the 56-minute interview does Swift mention a $1,000 Visa gift card or giving away 10,000 of them, according to the transcript on YouTube.
A Google News search (archived here) of the keywords "taylor swift $1,000 visa gift cards" yields zero results for a story from a credible news site about the offer. Had Swift, one of the world's most famous singer-songwriters, made such an offer, it would be national and international news.
Lead Stories contacted Swift's representatives for a comment and will update this fact check when a response is received.
Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims about Taylor Swift can be found here.
