California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer is defending his campaign’s controversial use of paid social media influencers after state election regulators opened an investigation into whether online creators failed to properly disclose sponsored political content.
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 he battles a crowded Democratic field to replace termed-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 the Sacramento 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.
The Fair Political Practices Commission confirmed this week that it has opened an investigation into “potential violations” of the state’s political advertising disclosure rules.
Critics argue the strategy was intentionally designed to make Steyer appear to have a spontaneous grassroots following online.
“He is trying to create the appearance of a grassroots movement, but artificially, in a way that’s very deceptive,” creator and Steyer critic Beatrice Gomberg told The Washington Post. Gomberg supports rival Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra.
The investigation comes days after previous reports revealed Steyer’s campaign had offered some creators as little as $10 per video to push issue-based content aligned with his platform while avoiding direct mentions of Steyer himself.
Internal campaign guidance reportedly instructed creators to focus on topics including taxing the wealthy, climate change, artificial intelligence regulation and abolishing ICE while keeping content “casual” and “relatable.”
The campaign also allegedly encouraged influencers not to mention Steyer directly in account bios to avoid appearing overly political or automated.
Some creators who declined the offers blasted the tactic as exploitative and misleading.
San Francisco-based creator Serabeth Mullaney previously described the outreach as “predatory,” arguing that financially struggling influencers were being encouraged to create political content without adequate transparency.
Steyer has heavily leaned on his personal fortune throughout the race, pouring more than $130 million into his gubernatorial campaign — vastly outspending competitors in both parties.
Before entering politics and climate activism, Steyer amassed his wealth running Farallon Capital Management, the San Francisco hedge fund he founded in 1986.
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