How much have Steyer and Becerra spent on influencers in crowded governor’s race?
People with middling to large social media followings have played a significant role in boosting gubernatorial candidates Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra, who are competing for the top of the Democratic field in the governor’s race ahead of the June 2 primary.
The Sacramento Bee was the first to report earlier this month that Steyer, who earned billions in venture capital before turning to climate change activism, is paying online creators to support his populist message on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and X. Last month, Becerra’s campaign hired creator Jordan “Jay” Gonzalez as a digital strategist to expand the former Attorney General’s reach online.
Paying influencers is legal, though state law requires both campaigns and the creators to disclose compensation, which the Becerra and Steyer campaigns have each accused the other of shirking in recent ethics complaints.
Steyer’s campaign shelled out payments to creators for as low as $60 and as high as $50,000, according to the latest filings. Most of the payments were disbursed to creators via companies like Gutsy Media, Palette, Inlet and Flighthouse, which also provided the campaign with other services, making it difficult to track how many creators were represented by studios and how many received direct payments.
Becerra campaign has so far paid Gonzalez $2,000 via LaMont Digital, which is producing ads for the campaign.
None of the other major Democratic or two Republican contenders appeared to have paid influencers, according to campaign records.
The Steyer campaign commissioned a report earlier this week from security company Cyabra, which said there was evidence that 3,164 fake bot accounts on Facebook, Instagram and X had boosted Becerra’s campaign and attacked Steyer. Some of the accounts, which generated more than 1.3 million views, also coordinated to boost Kamala Harris and Joe Biden in the 2024 election, Cyabra said.
Becerra campaign spokesperson Jonathan Underland dismissed the report as Steyer trying to “create as much chaos as possible” ahead of a Friday campaign report deadline. Reports covering the period between April 19 and May 16 were due Friday.
Each of the creators Steyer paid had varying levels of compliance when it came to disclosing that they had been paid to promote Steyer, which two pro-Becerra influencers filed a complaint against Steyer for last week. The Steyer campaign said in response it was confident that they had clearly told creators they needed to disclose any money they received and that the Becerra influencers’ complaint was “baseless.”
The Steyer campaign paid creators @foosgonewild, which received $50,000 to post on Instagram and TikTok; @theshaderoom, which received $25,000 to post on X and Instagram; and @mustdolosangeles, which received $1,000 for posting on Instagram, via the Flighthouse firm. Creators Brandon Calvillo and Hari Tahov received $14,250 and $1,000, respectively, via Pollution Media, to post on Instagram and TikTok.
The app SideShift initially offered creators $10 per supportive video to boost Steyer. They are now offering $1,000 per month and reported a series of payments to microinfluencers to post supportive videos on TikTok and Instagram after The Bee reported earlier this month that it was working with the Steyer campaign.
The following creators received payments via SideShift ranging from $60 to $560: @diva.speaks, @sandyvotes, @joff.ca0, @billyvotes.ca, @marie.peters.ca, @chris.votes, @saumyaspace, @zack.votes, @ridgecatalyst, @tora.votes, @ryn.speaks, @trina.larkk, @dadumbgenius, @saucestone, @nasirspeaks, @kiana.votes, and @sarahhyappsallthethyme, @jessica.moore 731, @jess.votes, @talkingwithsavannah, @isabel.speaks and @isabelspeakss, @jazroche3, @alydailyy and @alydailyy1.
