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California Attorney General Rob Bonta is “looking into” a barrage of complaints about governor candidates payinginfluencers for endorsementswithout those internet personalities disclosing they were paid.
“Unlike any complaint, we’ll review it to determine what role we have and what we should be doing and if we should be taking action,” Bonta said during an interview withKCRA 3 News.
While he did note his office was looking into it, he said the complaints fall under the purview of the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
“This is what they do — in campaigns and for political expenditures — they make sure that all the rules are being followed, disclosures are made, reporting is done right and accurately. So I think that they have the lead role here,” he added.
The FPPC is an independent California agency that enforces campaign finance, lobbying, and ethics laws. Created by voters in 1974 through the Political Reform Act, it promotes transparency, fair decision-making, and public trust in government.
Bonta’s comments come after California gubernatorial candidates,particularly Tom Steyer, came under fire for paying a growing list of influencers and meme accounts, revealed in campaign filings, as critics accuse the 68-year-old political hopeful of trying to hoodwink voters.
FPPC has launched a probe into Steyer’s hefty spending on a small army of Gen Z creators, some of whom allegedly did not disclose they were being paid by the hedge fund billionaire and later deleted the deceptive posts.
According to a campaign memoobtained by the Sacramento Bee, Steyer’s team approached additional content creators with offers of $10 per video, with promises of additional bonuses tied to view counts.
“Many voters are critical of Tom Steyer because of his billionaire status, lack of experience and previous investments.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
