Chorus, a nonprofit arm of the influencer marketing platform Good Influence, ran a Creator Incubator Program funded by the Sixteen Thirty Fund to recruit Democratic social media influencers. Dozens of creators with a combined following of at least 13 million were contacted in June and could receive up to $8,000 per month to promote progressive messaging. The Sixteen Thirty Fund is a large 501(c)(4) managed by Arabella Advisors that directed millions to Democratic-aligned super PACs in 2024. The 501(c)(4) structure enables donor-funded activity without legally required public donor disclosure or typical political ad disclaimers.
"There are some real great advantages to ... housing this program in a nonprofit," a lawyer working with Chorus said to creators on a Zoom call reviewed by WIRED. "It gives us the ability to raise money from donors. It also, with this structure, it avoids a lot of the public disclosure or public disclaimers-you know, 'Paid for by blah blah blah blah'-that you see on political ads. We don't need to deal with any of that. Your names aren't showing up on, like, reports filed with the FEC."
"501(c)(4) entities are one of the most common vehicles for funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into left-of-center political organizations and advocacy groups, since they are not legally required to disclose their donors. Managed by the for-profit firm Arabella Advisors, the Sixteen Thirty Fund poured millions into Democratic-aligned super PACs in the 2024 election cycle, campaign finance records show. Four anonymous donors accounted for nearly two-thirds of its 2023 revenue, according to tax filings."
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