![\"67th](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/05721268dfe5fc2f755be87a560615e127-taylor-swift-ai.rsquare.w400.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n Photo: Virisa Yong\/BFA.com\/Shutterstock\n <\/p>\n
An AI controversy is rocking the Swifties. The day after the release of The Life of a Showgirl<\/a>, Taylor Swift<\/a> fans were sent on a scavenger hunt, during which they had to find Easter eggs hidden inside videos. On its face, this is nothing out of the ordinary\u00a0for Swift<\/a>, who has a history of hiding clues in music videos and leaving secret messages in her liner notes. However, this Easter-egg hunt led fans\u00a0to videos that appear to have been made using AI, causing a big stir.<\/p>\n Swift\u2019s fans are mad at the possibility that she, someone who has fiercely advocated for artists\u2019 rights, would associate herself with AI videos. On the other hand, a smaller contingent think she might not have been involved with them at all. So, what\u2019s going on here? Here\u2019s what we know.<\/p>\n This past Saturday, if you searched \u201cTaylor Swift\u201d on Google, you were greeted with a burning heart emoji and a clue. \u201c12 cities. 12 doors. 1 video to unlock,\u201d the message read. If you clicked that emoji, letters appeared on the screen like shards of a shattered mirror, waiting to be deciphered. Those letters spelled out 12 cities around the world, in which orange doors bearing the number 12 and a QR code suddenly appeared<\/a>. (The Life of a Showgirl, in case you didn\u2019t know, is Swift\u2019s 12th album.) Fans who scanned the QR code were then led to videos on YouTube Shorts, which contained a new set of clues to be decoded so that fans could \u201cunlock\u201d the lyric video for Swift\u2019s lead single, \u201cThe Fate of Ophelia.\u201d<\/p>\n All this for a lyric video? We don\u2019t have time to unpack that. The videos, which appear to have been posted to Swift\u2019s YouTube channel but have since been removed, did have that certain AI sheen to them. Let\u2019s watch a few:<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8| The QR code displayed on the orange door in Paris directs you to this video on YouTube.pic.twitter.com\/1nq9fG2rl6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Swift Society (@TheSwiftSociety) October 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8| The QR code displayed on the orange door in Barcelona directs you to this video on YouTube.pic.twitter.com\/4NrvXKVfe2<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Swift Society (@TheSwiftSociety) October 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8| The QR code displayed on the orange door in Milan directs you to this video on YouTube.pic.twitter.com\/yZLFb8Me3x<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Swift Society (@TheSwiftSociety) October 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Not only did the videos display the kind of uncanny animation style we\u2019ve come to expect from AI-generated content, they also had the kinds of mistakes that have become obvious tells. Fans and haters alike were quick to point out gibberish letters on a treadmill, a finger that went through a napkin, and a hanger that suddenly disappeared from a clothing rack, among other things.<\/p>\n “its not AI”<\/p>\n right…. pic.twitter.com\/2hvvDhe5WN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 mimi \u2e06\u2e09 \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25 (@watchinwisteria) October 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cit\u2019s not ai\u201d the finger literally phases through the napkin https:\/\/t.co\/yctekdBeqp<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Q8BYmHtQCq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 jesse (@bIuesykes) October 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n This is AI, watch the hanger randomly disappear <\/p>\n Taylor swift a billionaire, is using AI for promotion. https:\/\/t.co\/OyzamoLdtQ<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/f4rp7fWBCT<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Happi (@HappiiFunTime) October 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Ah, yes, my favorite letter of the alphabet: JI pic.twitter.com\/DqBPQi7U7F<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 luke \ud83c\udf42 (@illicitlor) October 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018po tofino\u2019 oh it\u2019s actually awful pic.twitter.com\/meumsmrWh6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 codey \u271f \ud83e\ude89 (@letmedowngently) October 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Over on the Taylor Swift sub-Reddit, the official discussion post<\/a> for the scavenger hunt read, \u201cThe videos are most likely AI generated. We typically do not allow AI content, but given that this is somehow related to the album push we are clearly going to keep this thread going.\u201d<\/p>\n In the comments of the scavenger-hunt Reddit post, Swifties shared their frustrations about the singer seemingly using AI as part of her album promotion.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really disappointed to see AI being used for these videos. It shows a total lack of awareness about the environmental impact,\u201d one fan wrote, a sentiment that came up again and again in the comments. \u201cI\u2019m so disappointed. AI is literally destroying my industry and is basically going to ruin my job which is my absolute world. I cannot understand why someone who is so passionate about art and artists wouldn\u2019t hire an artist and instead uses something that steals our work,\u201d another Swiftie wrote. One very blunt fan simply wrote, \u201cThe use of AI is cheap, tacky, and anti art.\u201d<\/p>\n Swift, who\u2019s been vocal about artists owning their own work over the years, has previously gone on the record as anti-AI. Last year in September, a few weeks after Donald Trump shared an AI image of Swift<\/a> as Uncle Sam endorsing his presidential bid, Swift officially\u00a0endorsed Kamala Harris<\/a>, writing in her announcement that Trump\u2019s post \u201creally conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation.\u201d Swift had previously been a victim of AI, when pornographic deepfakes of her circulated on X<\/a> in January 2024.<\/p>\n While some fans are upset with Swift for the videos, others are questioning whether she or her team were involved at all. \u201cWhy hasn\u2019t Taylor Nation posted anything about this door knocking. Why does it feel like it had nothing to do with them and entirely YouTube\u2019s idea,\u201d one fan wrote on the Reddit thread for the scavenger hunt. (Taylor Nation is Swift\u2019s official social-media team, who are no strangers to fan activations like this.) \u201cIs it just me or is it odd that there\u2019s been zero taylor nation promo (not even confirming solutions on twitter or anything),\u201d another fan asked.<\/p>\n It is curious that the videos are no longer up, though screenshots suggest they were originally posted to Swift\u2019s official YouTube page. The promotion, which appears to be in collaboration with Google (which owns YouTube), comes just a few months after the tech company introduced Veo 3, its latest AI video-generation tool, and Flow, an AI filmmaking tool that harnesses all of Google\u2019s AI tools.<\/p>\n So, did Swift do an AI-tinted collaboration with Google, or did Google just use the biggest cultural moment of the year to promote its new product? Neither Google nor Swift have addressed the controversy \u2014\u00a0a representative for Swift declined to comment, and Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Stay in touch.<\/p>\n Get the Cut newsletter delivered daily<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n