Paid Influencers Flood CA Governor's Race, Violating Disclosure Rules

Jaz Roche, a social media creator based in Pennsylvania, posts short videos about products and also recently promoted California governor candidate Tom Steyer. TikTok and Instagram accounts linked to Roche posted multiple times in a short period to support Steyer or criticize Xavier Becerra. Roche’s videos include statements suggesting Steyer’s progressiveness while omitting that the campaign is paying her. California law requires influencers to disclose when they are paid by political campaigns, and regulators have opened an investigation into at least one Steyer influencer video. Experts note the law has limited penalties and enforcement can take years, making compliance difficult and leaving a “Wild West” environment.

"On a website where clients can pay her to post videos about their products, she says she's based in Pennsylvania. Yet the content creator has taken an interest in the California governor's race lately. Tiktok and Instagram accounts linked to Roche have posted 34 times in the past 10 days to boost the campaign of billionaire Tom Steyer or to criticize his main Democratic opponent, Xavier Becerra."

"“Hear me out, I have something to admit,” she says in the first video, posted May 8, on an account where she describes herself as a “so-cal girlypop.” “I did not expect the most progressive governor candidate to be a billionaire. But look at the policies, you guys.” What she didn't say was that Steyer's campaign is paying her to say it."

"Gov. Gavin Newsom three years ago signed a law meant to bring transparency to the increasingly intertwined world of politics and content creators, enacting a law requiring influencers to be upfront in their posts about being paid by a political campaign. In one of the first tests of the law, regulators have opened an investigation into one of the Steyer influencer videos. But experts and transparency advocates aren't optimistic: The law was intentionally designed with no real penalties, and the agency responsible for enforcing it sometimes takes years to resolve investigations."

"“This is where the 'Wild West' analogy becomes useful,” said Dan Schnur, a political science professor and former chair of the state's Fair Political Practices Commission. 'Inundate the internet' Campaign finance filings from January through April 18 show Steyer has paid"

Read at San Jose Inside