The video surfaced amid growing speculation about a romantic relationship between Swift and Kelce.

Image Via Emma McIntyre/WireImage

Claim:

Videos that surfaced in November 2023 accurately reported that actor Joe Alwyn “furiously” reacted to singer Taylor Swift dating football player Travis Kelce.

On Nov. 13, 2023, a YouTube video claimed that actor Joe Alwyn had “furiously” reacted to singer Taylor Swift dating Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce without any evidence to corroborate the claim. The assertion was unfounded.

The video surfaced amid growing speculation about a romantic relationship between Swift and Kelce. Prior to the speculation about the two’s relationship, Swift and Alwyn reportedly dated for almost six years before breaking up in April 2023. Swift made news on Nov. 11, 2023, when she changed a lyric in her song “Karma” that allegedly references Alwyn to be about Kelce instead, who was watching the concert with her father.

The unfounded rumor stemmed from a video by the purported celebrity gossip YouTube channel Gossip Tea with the caption, “Joe Alwyn Furiously Reacts To Taylor Swift Dating Travis Kelce,” and a thumbnail alleging Alwyn had said, “Back off!” about Kelce being linked to Swift.

That YouTube video had been viewed more than 35,000 times, as of this writing, since its upload on Nov. 13, 2023. Meanwhile, at least 10 TikTok videos with the same unfounded claim had collectively gained more at least 900,000 views. We also found the video posted to  Facebook.

There was no evidence to support the assertions made in the YouTube video. If, hypothetically speaking, there was even a sliver of truth to the claim — for instance, if Alwyn had said anything about Swift and Kelce — reputable entertainment media outlets would have documented the ordeal. That had not happened.

In short, the claim appeared to be made up from whole cloth for the purpose of gaining clicks, or views, online. We’ve previously reported that Gossip Tea, a Thailand-based YouTube account, published similar fictional videos with thumbnails that claimed Swift and Kelce announced an engagement and were getting married.

Despite the video’s unfounded claims, its inclusion of Joe Alwyn’s past relationship with Taylor Swift adds a touch of credibility. These emotionally charged videos, blending partial truths with misinformation, often attract extensive comments on YouTube, with some viewers interpreting them as legitimate news.

This isn’t the first instance of misleading rumors surrounding Taylor Swift gaining traction on social media. An earlier false claim, suggesting Swift had publicly confirmed her relationship with Travis Kelce, also originated from a similar YouTube video and was debunked.