Influencers supporting candidates are being paid, and regulations don't require disclosure: report

Political campaigns are paying influencers to promote candidates, and unlike other promotions, such as mailers and television ads, disclosure of the payments for political support isn't usually required. 

Josh Greene, who has nearly 800,000 followers across multiple platforms, has supported dozens of progressive candidates in the midterm elections, but he doesn't tell his viewers he's being compensated for the promotions, the New York Times reported. 

In the current campaign cycle, Greene has received money from at least seven politicians or outside groups supporting them, including several congressional candidates in New York and a super PAC linked to Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. Greene also received $21,500 from Tom Steyer, the former candidate for governor in California. 

While campaign mailers, billboards, television spots and radio and print ads require disclosure of payments for political support, social media occupies a legal gray area. Only a few states require such disclosures. In most cases, influencers can receive payments to endorse candidates without ever disclosing the payments. 

The only way viewers can discover such payments is by searching a candidate's campaign finance reports, which is how the Times discovered the payments Greene received. 

Greene told the Times he only accepts money from candidates and campaigns he'd support anyway, and he's turned down offers if he doesn't support them. However, he said more transparency laws are needed. 

The practice isn't limited to Democrats. Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, alleging that at least eight social media accounts were paid to attack his military record during the Republican primary. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported in April that there appeared to be a coordinated network of influencers stumping for Nate Morris, who was running in a Republican Senate primary, and none disclosed that they were paid. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Republican nominee for Senate, paid for a campaign of conservative Gen Z influencers on X to support him when he was facing impeachment in the state several years ago, The Texas Tribune reported.