Dems Pay Influencers to Pretend They’re Grassroots

According to recent reporting by Taylor Lorenz in Wired, a secretive dark money group is funding influencers to post pro-Democratic Party messaging on social media services - paying them up to $8,000 per month to do so and holding them to a secretive contract that prevents them from even revealing their relationship to the organization Chorus, backed by the Sixteen Thirty Fund.

Some of those named as affiliated with the program including Brian Tyler Cohen, Olivia Julianna, David Pakman and Pod Save America’s Jon Favreau have posted uncannily similar response statements and videos attacking everything except the facts of the article. Kenneth Walden, behind the account 2RawTooReal, wasn’t even listed in the article but posted an attack video saying “Apparently, we’re not allowed to bash Democrats or actually give them any type of constructive criticism. However, I swear I be on damn Bernie Sanders’ ass like flies on —.” The ironies abound, and the dismissals of the story have fallen flat.

Democrats fully recognize that they need to appeal to young voters, those who are most influenced by social media.  According to Berkeley Political Review, “Biden won youth (ages 18 to 29) voters by 24 points [in 2020], but Harris only led Trump by 11 points [in 2024].” The damning statistics don’t necessarily reflect that young people are actually getting more conservative, but likely that they’re more aware of a corrupt system in which both parties promote more cops, defend genocide and send ICE after innocent people.

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