يحاول ذهب - حر

Misleading messaging for fans is Taylor-made

March 22, 2024

|

The Guardian Weekly

Beforeanote from the next album has been heard, Swifties have turned sleuths, spreading baseless allegations about its assumed subjects

- Laura Snapes

Misleading messaging for fans is Taylor-made

As you can't have failed to notice, it was reported this month that Taylor Swift and Emily Dickinson are sixth cousins three times removed. Ancestry.com shared the news - in no way, I am certain, prompted by team Swift as promo for her forthcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department. Call it the Tortured Promo Department - fans who crunched the numbers worked out that Swift probably has 3.3 million sixth cousins thrice removed. She is just as likely to be related to Ayn Rand, enslavers or any number of unsavoury people but there's no Today Show exclusive on those links. "How's this for a coincidence?" the broadcaster asked. Telling, and not in the way the Swift operation would doubtless like you to think: less indicative of a lineage of literary greatness than a taste for plausible deniability in a well-maintained void of information.

المزيد من القصص من The Guardian Weekly

The Guardian Weekly

The Guardian Weekly

Trump has shown there aren't any rules. We'll all regret that

I never thought it possible that you could look back on the Iraq war and feel some measure of nostalgia.

time to read

4 mins

January 09, 2026

The Guardian Weekly

The Guardian Weekly

The new world order 'according to Trump

With the audacious snatch and grab raid that extracted Nicolás Maduro to face trial in the United States, Washington sent a clear message to its allies and adversaries:

time to read

3 mins

January 09, 2026

The Guardian Weekly

The phone is ringing, but is it a scam? I'll ask my assistant

I am staring at my computer when my phone rings.

time to read

3 mins

January 09, 2026

The Guardian Weekly

The Guardian Weekly

The unlikely genius of Getdown Services

Scatological lyrics, social conscience, a commitment to fun and a shoutout from Walton Goggins - 2026 is going to be the laptop garage band's year

time to read

3 mins

January 09, 2026

The Guardian Weekly

The Guardian Weekly

Behind the race to get Americans back on the moon

With astronauts set to fly around the moon for the first time in more than half a century when Artemis 2 makes its ascent sometime this spring, 2026 was already destined to become a standout year in space.

time to read

3 mins

January 09, 2026

The Guardian Weekly

Striking it rich The US plan for involvement in Venezuela's 'bust' oil sector

The Venezuelan oil industry has been “a total bust” for a long time, according to Donald Trump.

time to read

2 mins

January 09, 2026

The Guardian Weekly

The Guardian Weekly

Life after extinction Science or science fiction?

A startup's plans for resurrecting lost creatures have caught the public's imagination but many researchers doubt that such a feat is possible

time to read

5 mins

January 09, 2026

The Guardian Weekly

The Guardian Weekly

It's a ridiculous time to be a man'

A group of male comedians is at the forefront of a new genre of social media comedy poking fun at our ever-shifting notions of modern masculinity

time to read

4 mins

January 09, 2026

The Guardian Weekly

The Guardian Weekly

Charting the global economy in 2026

With inflation predicted to cool, rising unemployment, weak growth and trade tensions pose fresh risks, while high debt and AI add to uncertainty in the year ahead

time to read

4 mins

January 09, 2026

The Guardian Weekly

High stakes for Mamdani as he must now deliver on his promises to New York

The multiple firsts achieved by New York’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, have been well chronicled: he is the first Muslim to occupy that role, the first south Asian and the first to be born in Africa.

time to read

2 mins

January 09, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size