The billionaire former hedge fund manager’s campaign has spent months quietly recruiting TikTok and Instagram personalities to post favorable videos about his candidacy as hebattles a crowded Democratic fieldto replacetermed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The effort is now under scrutiny from California’s Fair Political Practices Commission after complaints alleged some influencers promoted Steyer without clearly disclosing to followers they had been paid by the billionaire candidate’s campaign.
Kevin Liao, a spokesperson for the Steyer campaign, pushed back against the allegations in a statement to The California Post.
“Consistent with state law, payments for creator content are disclosed in campaign finance reports, and we notify creators we directly work with of their disclosure requirements. As a result, we are confident the complaint is baseless,” he said.
“Creators make their living generating content. The campaign believes in compensating people for their time and work product and has paid creators to generate content,” he added.
The controversy erupted after a report revealed several influencers had posted seemingly organic videos praising Steyer while receiving campaign-linked payments behind the scenes, according to theSacramento Bee, who first reported on the memo detailing the strategy.
One of those creators, influencer Jason Chu, who has roughly 130,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, uploaded a February video examining Steyer’s background as a Wall Street billionaire turned environmental activist,the Washington Post reported.
In the clip, Chu questioned whether Steyer was someone who had recognized the damage caused by his investment career and was now attempting to reverse it through politics.
What viewers were not told, according to campaign finance filings, was that Chu had allegedly received $2,000 for “online communications” work through a media contractor tied to the Steyer campaign, according to The Post.
California law adopted in 2023 requires online creators who are paid to support or oppose political candidates to disclose that relationship in their posts.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
