Mount Rushmore: Is Thomas Jefferson Being Replaced With Taylor Swift?

Have you ever wanted to shake things up with a rumor that spreads like wildfire just for fun?

One TikTok creator thought it was a good idea and went for it. Little did she know, her hilarious rumor would take off so fast with other social media creators getting on board!

TikTok creator blink1katie2__, who we'll just call Katie for the rest of this story, woke up and chose CHAOS! And what fun chaos she chose!

In a TikTok video she shared two days ago, she asked for some "advice" and the events that have happened since will make your head spin.

"Does anyone have any advice on how to start a successful rumor because I would like to start a rumor that they will be replacing Thomas Jefferson's face with Taylor Swift's on Mount Rushmore in order to boost the economy in South Dakota," she asked. "And I want it to get on Fox News and make multiple middle aged men cry. So if anyone has any tips on how I can make that happen, please reach out."

The video received more than 1 million views in a short amount of time, as well as nearly 6,500 comments. And that's not the most impressive part of this story (so stick with us.)

"I live in South Dakota. Can confirm. That’s why Amtrak is looking to finally come through our state. To boost the Taylor Swift tourism," one viewer wrote in the comments. Another added, "I’m a hairstylist gonna tell all my clients this tomorrow as if it’s cold hard fact and just let it roll."

Tons of advice started pouring in to help Katie along with her quest. Everyone, and we mean everyone, was rolling with the joke, and even expanding it further to keep it going strong!

"I saw this earlier!!! I wonder if they’ll have friendship bracelets in the gift shops? Anyone know?" asked one viewer. "As an esthetician and a medical worker, I’m telling my clients and patients this as small talk," wrote one other.

One person suggested, "make a petition. if it gets a certain amount of signatures the government actually has to respond, and the right will respond well before that," and that's just what Katie did next. But, and that's a big but, the petition on Change.org is not exactly what you would think. It's titled, "Halt the Proposal to Replace Thomas Jefferson with Taylor Swift on Mount Rushmore."

Hold up, wait a minute! So Katie started the rumor and then started a petition to stop such a crazy thing from happening. Is your head spinning yet? Ours sure are!

The petition currently has nearly 900 signatures so far, and the page explains just what's going on (well, sort of).

"As a deeply concerned citizen, I am disturbed by the recent proposal to replace Thomas Jefferson's image on Mount Rushmore with that of pop singer Taylor Swift. This is not what America stands for. The faces carved into Mount Rushmore represent our nation's history and heritage, not fleeting popular culture," the description on the petition page starts out.

After talking about how important Thomas Jefferson is and that Taylor Swift "would diminish its historical significance," she concludes the description by saying, "We must respect our past while looking forward to our future. Let us preserve Mount Rushmore as it is - a testament to American history and resilience - rather than altering it for temporary cultural relevance. Please join me in opposing this proposal by signing this petition today. Let us stand together for preserving America’s rich history!"

Katie shared a follow up video to explain the petition she created, saying she did create a "fake petition" and linked it in her bio. She first asked that people check out the other links in her bio as well, and then explained that in her first video, she didn't say "they should put Taylor Swift's face on Mount Rushmore."

"I wasn't suggesting it," she said. "I was just saying like wouldn't it be crazy if people believed something this outrageous?"

Regardless of what her initial intent was, Katie has a literal free marketing team of strangers helping her get the word out. (Like online besties she didn't even know she had!) Many left comments on her video saying they signed the petition and others commented about how genius her plan is.

If you just put "Taylor Swift Mount Rushmore" into the search bar on TikTok, you'll get TONS of videos that keep the rumor spreading! TONS of videos, we tell you! (And remember, this all happened in only the past TWO DAYS!)

But it's not just contained to TikTok and a petition. There's also traces of this rumor on X, Reddit and YouTube.

Over on Reddit, the rumor starts to pick up big time with a link to ANOTHER petition on Change.org. This one is titled, "Replace Thomas Jefferson's Face with Taylor Swift's on Mount Rushmore." While its goal is only 50 signatures, it's already got 46! This petition was started by someone named Kim Dunlap and also has an interesting explanation. Check it out HERE.

On YouTube, one creator says, "I'm not a Swiftie, but GOD she's good for us!"

So the questions remain, which petition would you sign, are you going to keep this fun rumor going strong on your social media pages or in conversation, and how far do you think this can go? Because WE'RE HERE FOR IT! All of it!