➡️ Top news today: A mass shooting at the Chief’s Super Bowl victory parade left one person dead, and 24 injured—including 9 children shot . Your daily reminder that there are literally more guns than people in the “greatest country in the world.”

In today’s newsletter:

• 1 in 3 Republicans believe this lie about Taylor Swift

• More proof that our criminal “justice” system needs an overhaul

• Your daily news roundup

• Some good news: The first Black woman in the Mississippi Legislature finally gets her due.

⏱️ Estimated read time: 5.5 minutes.

1 in 3 Republicans believe this crazy lie about Taylor Swift

File this under “sh*t you can’t make up.” After a relentless campaign by right-wing media figures, a new poll released yesterday from Monmouth University found that a full one-third of all Republicans believe Taylor Swift is involved in a covert government effort to help Joe Biden win the 2024 presidential election. For what it’s worth, nearly three-quarters (73%) of those also believe the 2020 election was stolen (it wasn’t).

In the run-up to the Super Bowl, several fascist-supporting propagandists spread unhinged attacks that Swift is secretly a Democratic operative, CIA agent, or part of a “psyop,” according to the media watchdog Media Matters. The lie was put front and center by Jesse Watters from Fox News, where spreading lies and conspiracy theories is a billion dollar business. In response, the United States Defense Department actually had to put out a statement in Taylor’s defense. 

But but but: Fascists have reason to be worried—in the 24 hours after a single Instagram post by Taylor Swift last year, Vote.org says nearly 65,000 Americans ages 18-29 registered to vote. No wonder the hysterical lies.