On Jan. 30, 2024, the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook page posted that the NFL was considering banning 12-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist Taylor Swift from performing at Super Bowl LVIII. The post showed an image consisting of photos of Swift and a wide shot of a football game above a bolded headline.
The post's pinned comment led to an article on esspots.com that began as follows:
Breaking: NFL Reportedly Considering Banning Taylor Swift from Super Bowl, "We're Tired of Her"
In a surprising turn of events, the National Football League (NFL) is reportedly considering banning pop superstar Taylor Swift from performing at the Super Bowl, with a high-ranking official quoted as saying, "We're tired of Taylor Swift." This news comes as a shock to many, given Swift's immense popularity and her status as one of the world's biggest music icons.
However, this story was not a factual recounting of real-life events. The article originated with a website that describes its output as specializing in satire, parody and humor, as follows:
Welcome to Esspots.com, a website that specializes in satire, parody, and humor. Before you proceed to read our content, we would like to emphasize that nothing on this website is real. All of the articles, stories, and commentary found on Esspots.com are entirely fictitious and created for the purpose of entertainment only.
We understand that satire can sometimes be mistaken for actual news or events, but we want to make it clear that we do not publish factual or accurate information. We do not intend to deceive or mislead our readers in any way, and all of our content should be taken with a grain of salt.
Our articles and stories often use exaggeration, irony, and sarcasm to make a point, and should not be taken seriously. We do not endorse any political or social views presented on this website, and our content is not meant to be a substitute for actual news or information.
We encourage our readers to enjoy our content in the spirit of humor and satire, and not to take it as fact. If you are uncertain whether something is meant to be taken seriously or not, please do not hesitate to contact us for clarification.
Here are the facts: Super Bowl LVIII takes place on Feb. 11, 2024. The matchup will pit the San Francisco 49ers against the Kansas City Chiefs. Swift is expected to possibly be in attendance to support her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. She is not, however, part of the announced halftime show for the 2024 game, nor is she one of several performers who are scheduled to sing or provide music. The halftime show will be headlined by eight-time Grammy winner Usher.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.