NEW: A dark money group Is secretly funding high-profile Democratic influencers, offering influencers up to $8,000 a month to push the party line. All they have to do is keep it secret—and agree to restrictions on their content. a truly wild story from @taylorlorenz.bsky.social for @wired.com:
Please be truly ashamed for a) uncritically posting this byline and b) ever getting Taylor Lorenz to speak truthfully about ANYTHING, because she is foundationally a fucking liar.
Damn I’m available
I'm gonna bet that dark money is trying to quash progressive politics and maintain the status quo. Still available?
I doubt it quite honestly. The DNC is a big tent and even on existing left wing sources it goes from the Pod Save bros to Brian Tyler Cohen and Mark Elias to Hasan. That cat has been out of the bag since AOC and the Squad won seats over a decade ago, beating Blue Dogs.
I'm gonna bet that anyone who believes what that dumb cunt writes, is also a dumb cunt.
I'll take that bet and if I win you should donate it to secure.actblue.com/donate/choru...
Sounds like you'd lose the bet. The group behind this is the SixteenThirty Fund. They're more about shaping thinking about voting & reproductive rights, as well as climate issues than funding individual candidates. This is their Director: amy-kurtz.medium.com/looking-back...
Persecution complex much? I think the dems have other priorities like right now, like, oh, getting dems elected so they can fight fascism in congress. You know, just like the progressive Mamdani who has a long list of endorsements from dems. He knows who to fight. Do you?
Do YOU? If the Dems don't embrace progressive politics they are going to continue to lose. Look at the Democratic endorsements for Cuomo for god's sake. Constituents are demanding change and rightfully so. Wake up.
mamdani is the democratic nominee and you’re still mad
I'm not at all mad, I'm just appalled, lol
Tell me about it. Normies love him too. I like him. But it’s still all this big conspiracy to eject progressives who never vote for Dems and prefer fascism over voting for Dems.
I do. I’m guessing you haven’t even bothered to look at Zohrans’s list, have you? I’m guessing you’re a little bit than attached to your persecution complex. Check it out. www.zohranfornyc.com/endorsements
Oh and did the record I don’t consider people who hated. Black woman more than Bibi’s boo the genodical fascist to be progressive in any sense of the word. They killed Palestine because they didn’t want to vote for a black woman. Fuck them. So don’t try me on that, dear.
I'll try you on anything I damn please, including the infighting that also degrades the power of liberal politics. You're preaching to the choir and directing YOUR persecution complex to the wrong audience. Rein it in, babe.
Oh Did I dream about how so called progressives abandoned us all to fascism? Because they didn’t feel special enough? You csn sit around and whine about Dems and excluding leftists all you want. But normie Dems vote. Your friends didn’t. They chose fascism. Bye.
So... exactly how long have you lived in Russia? All your life? lol
www.wearechorus.com/join-chorus go for it!
Real talk the problem with this is mostly my 50502000 proposal is better and way more cash efficient. This is the control freak version of culture, like old Hollywood, but it is late 2025, Dems need to join the world of actually supporting creators to create and more than just political creators.
Creating the conditions for another capitulation in September.
these the people that want a left-wing rogan, i assume 🙄
Lorenz is a nut having her brain turned to mush by Twitter reactionaries. this article should be retracted, frankly
Taylor Lorenz? LOL.
Restrictions on their content? Let me guess - don’t mention the genocide in Gaza?
A truly awful story written by someone who praised Nazi's. Why would anyone choose to repost this knowing the author's clear bias? This isn't a research piece. It is just more racism in a thinly veiled disguise.
No. For one, the whole idea of “democracy” in this country is each having their own freedom of speech, freedom of the press, etc. Paying people to “say the right things” is how fascism works. If this were a good thing, it wouldn’t be done in SECRET. Sorry. No lockstep thinking for me.
Thank you. Team sports politics is a helluva drug. Too many people have completely lost their way on ethics and corrosive effects of propaganda.
Can I also get money if I reply here screeching about purity tests?
Whats wild about it, this is the media landscape and liberals are way behind
Absolute control corrupts absolutely… Doesn’t matter who you are or how idealistic you are when you set out — this level of control is a corrupting influence on everyone involved. It may be fighting fire with fire but all it really does is ensure that everything burns to the ground.
Why aren't liberal dark money groups buying off supreme court justices like conservative dark money groups? Pretty behind the ball to still only be paying off instagram models and youtubers for old fashioned PR work.
You lost me at Taylor Lorenz 😫
This is exactly the problem. The left is going to do what the right did. Not be what the people want but work to manipulate through proven social media methods in order to "win" elections. Please let me off this ferris wheel, I'm so done
So, that was a lie from Ms. Lorenz as it turns out www.instagram.com/reel/DN3xSpI...
🙃🙃🙃 So my FEC report that cost me $15 bucks I could barely even afford, months of my life waiting for a nil verdict, and the exposure of my address was probably useful to y'all, after all? Thanks for letting me know.
This cd work to get Dems elected & defeat fascism. Everything libs do is met in media/SMedia w a litany of criticisms. Some of it is from foreign & domestic trolls pretending 2B liberals. Much is from ppl unknowingly influenced by trolls. @whstancil.bsky.social says, it's taboo 2B a liberal online.
bsky.app/profile/scho...
This is… not the writer I subscribe to Wired to read 😬
+1
Where do I sign up?
This pearl clutching is ridiculous. We need to build a media ecosystem on the left and creators (none of whom are naive) need to get paid for their work. Otherwise it’s unsustainable. We have to ditch the freaking purity tests.
“The future of the republic does not depend on U.S. military superiority and the physical war-fighting capability. It depends on the United States’ ability to defend and counter the information and cognitive war that will take place in the collective shared understanding of every U.S. citizen.”
You guys call having basic humanity and opposition to genocide a ‘purity test’ so forgive us if we no longer trust your integrity.
Point taken, but who is enforcing purity in this instance?
DNC money is buying guns that only point left
Who is the "We" building the media ecosystem in this case? Do you believe them to be motivated by altruism or perhaps a group with this much money has other motivations? Do we gain anything by them requiring anonymity? What if they are the same people donating to Republicans?
I had a conversation earlier this year with Josh Cook, one of the founders. The “we” is the pro democracy mvmt. It’s not right wing. www.freedomoverfascism.us/p/josh-cook?...
I watched the first chunk. Congrats on going out and doing some work and interviewing him. Interesting idea. Unfortunately, he flubbed the execution and decided to micromanage his targeted creators and felt the need to require anonymity.
He immediately torpedoes any authenticity these creators may have had and shows that they have minimal qualms against being controlled in exchange for money. He is too quick to commodify trust, and you can tell by how he talks about it. It's a tool and the substance doesnt matter.
We have see the results of the DNC having preferred candidates they push in primaries who fall on their face. Speaking as a Mainer who has seen Collins win every time.
Maybe you need to work harder to remove her. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Person who does not know what the DNC is or does wants to blame anything but the voters for their own choices
Arguing that primary voters do not have agency is a truly stupid hill to die on
You're blaming the DNC for Susan Collins getting elected Noun verb DNC with you people. Good fucking lord. Maybe you as a Maine voter should act like an adult and take some responsibility
Darn it, your right. I should have started my own PAC and outspent Schumer’s PAC. www.mainepublic.org/politics/202...
You should learn what the DNC does.
That's not a DNC issue, that's your state and local Dem party committee that is the problem. Maybe you and your friends should join in order to help get the candidates you want.
Or GOTV in the primaries to make sure the candidate that isn't hand-picked by the DCCC wins. Maine is a small state. Non-presidential primaries have low turnout.
Tell that to Elliot, not my state
They do this on the federal level. Ever heard of a superdelegate? Big donors get to decide who gets funded, backed, ad money, etc. Look at what they're trying to do to Zohran in NYC. You have to make yourself attractive. It's no one's responsibility to care about a party. Parties ≠ voting, activism
We no longer have Super Delegates, we haven't had them for over 6 yrs. You can Google the DNC Bilaws, Platform, rules and committee minutes you know. If you don't like the Dem party, then don't vote for them. Register as a Republican and vote for them. It's that easy 🤷♀️
The Maine Democratic party publishes online the complete instruction guide on how to take them over. Then you can get the candidates you want.
Tell Elliot above, I'm just letting him know that the DNC has nothing to do with who gets elected in for state elections.
Absolutely. I intended my post as additional support for what you were saying. A lot of people don't seem to understand that when they say "Democrats suck b/c..." that the only reason they're not including themselves is b/c they're too fucking lazy to put their effort where their mouth is.
Ok, sorry, misread your intent. Yes, agree with you 100%! I was a former local District Chair in my city and it pissses me off that people do this. When you ask them to join to help fix it, you'd think I told them to cut off their arm. 🤦🏻♀️ Once again, sorry.
BUT I'M SO BUSY POASTING FOR THE REVOLUTION AND ALSO DEMOCRATS SUCK MOSTLY MY MOM.
🤣🤣🤣
That's not the fault of the DNC. That's the fault of Maine voters. Talk to your neighbors instead of talking smack on socials. It's a better use of your time.
Voters choose candidates, not the DNC. Hope this helps.
Casting your own failure to organize a movement as if it's the failure of the national Democratic party is a habit online leftists have that is truly pathetic.
They're the same people who bitch about Jared Golden NOT being a far lefty while ignoring the reality that his largely rural district ISN'T a hotbed of DemSocialist Commie Cosplay. But GRRR...the DNC Monster!!!
'The DNC has failed me! It did not give me a candidate I liked! Also the DNC should stay out of these elections and let the voters decide!' No more self awareness than a dog licking its own asshole, as Stonekettle would say.
Maybe you shouldn't nominate candidates that hang around with the left and get tagged with their white privileged slogans.
That seems like an odd characterization of "Defund the Police". Can you expand a bit on that?
Which part? That Black voters hated it, because what they actually wanted was the cops white people get, and they experienced what life without police looked like during the gang wars of the 1980s? Or the part where white voters pushing it knew that the "neighborhood watch" wouldn't harass them?
Whichever part you like. It doesn't really fit with my experiences|observations and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. IF, you've a few minutes free to write them. Except (uh) maybe without hijacking someone else's thread. /rueful
PS: are you in Maine?
The DNC does not choose your local candidates in Maine. That's not their job. Complain to your state party.
how does he not know that?
Because he has never been actively involved in the Democratic party in his state, and probably not even in his own city. If he had, he'd know what was going on there.
i mean, it was rhetorical, but yes. it's always the case. It's chilling to think about how many people are unaware of how our government works. chilling.
Most of the population has no idea how our government works, which explains why our government looks the way it does now. Americans just don't know how clueless they are compared to the rest of the world.
facts. it's still chilling. i had a conversation with a Black man right before the election and had to explain so much. it hurt because he was about my age, and didn't seem to appreciate our history, OR our duty to be vigilant.
It is definitely chilling. I was raised by people active in voter registration since Jim Crow, so voting etc. has always been a big deal in our family. It is sad how effective recent voter suppression tactics have been.
same.
But only for centrists? Because there’s always a purity test for leftists.
Sign me up. Getting paid to promote democracy, democratic principles (which need work) and skewering conservatives and maga morons would be an honor.
Trying to win is bad?
Good Lord the replies to this. People have lost the plot, they're fine with any tactic and screw democracy so long as their team is the one doing it.
100%
It’s about damn time! the other side has billions to spend on its millions of bots and thousands of influencers. this initiative by Democrats probably funds about twelve people. big whup.
This thread is surreal. Billionaire oligarchs are secretly paying Dem influencers to push their agenda and everyone is ok with that?
Damn it. I’m a paid subscriber to Wired. I thought you were one of the good ones left. Publishing work by Taylor Lorenz is such a poorly bought out mistake it makes me question every other piece of your journalism and obviously my support.
Unbiased news is few and far between. The American Prospect. More Perfect Union. The Handbasket Notes on the Crisis are all good and to be trusted
yyyyyyup.
do you have any response to this leah
narrator: she did not
I guess the response was all the “updates” to the piece correcting misinformation. I saw another one or two interesting and good Wired pieces today & this detracts heavily from those. Oh. And I was accused of misogyny for criticizing Lorenz. Sorry. I support great women journalists (eg Glasser)
I don’t support bad ones who deliver little value but seem to relish the opportunity to make themselves the story.
same
the only good part of this is finding out which journalists you still thought shouldn't be thrown to the wolves actually should, in fact, have been thrown to the wolves, and it's only "good" in a profoundly recondite sense of the term
There’s nothing other than sexism that makes Lorenz a target
Much like radiation in Marvel comics, experiencing discrimination gives some people superpowers.
It can definitely open eyes, sometimes give them determination.
Over years now I’ve seen sloppy journalism and attention seeking online and other weird behavior. I don’t really have anything against her personally. But she’s not a serious or real journalist.
She has a beat, it’s online life and influencers, and she actually covers it pretty well. She gets attacked because she tells people Covid still exists and higher risk people feel left out of public life and advocates for better mitigation. She takes massive abuse doing her job.
Ok. Sure. Whatever. Calling me misogynist because I object to her as journalist says a lot more about you than it does about me.
There are lots of journalists people disagree with, don’t really like, think are lightweights, whatever, but none of the male ones get the kind of hate and harassment she gets. Dispute the reporting instead of killing the messenger.
Probably because she got fired from a news organization for lying, so anything she says is worth less than nothing at this point. apnews.com/article/tayl...
She also gets attacked because everyone has weird parasocial relationships with content creators. So when she is unfavorable to someone's creator they get stupid.
I thought she was a “journalist”.
Sounds based
To those confused as to what the problem with this is exactly, this is an excellent response: bsky.app/profile/espi...
So?
Democrats should have no money, no voters, no homes, no clothes, and they should just run around shouting 'do something' so that the purity people are happy.
To people who don't see a problem with this, read the article. They're not just paying them to support the party. They're paying them to not talk about certain things, such as the genocidal state of Israel.
Don’t want a free trial of Wired but I take it the article doesn’t name the influencers since it’s dark money funded. If this is a relatively new thing it would seem a little easier to spot new voices/faces. It’s kind of how many Democrats feel already when they see a spokesperson for Third Way.
Some of the influencers are named. David Pakman, for example.
plot twist: its rightwing groups funding this to further disable democrats and render them inert wait, who are we kidding? dems are doing that just fine on their own
Abundance Dems are funded almost entirely by right wing money. Its par for the course.
Now do every right-wing podcaster and social media pundit funded by Heritage, Stephen Miller, and Leonard Leo.
Thanks for the story, but.....ugh. I'm not happy with the eroding of transparency and honesty, no matter who's doing it. It makes it harder for any of us to know what's real and trust one another.
And have Trump put the full force of the federal government against them?
Reading the article, I'm curious about what the transparency angle really is. Literally anything an "influencer" says on social media is due to a paid arrangement they've made exactly along these lines. None of which they're ever encouraged to be transparent about. 1/2
This is fair. I'm thinking about transparency more from a journalism perspective than from a legal/campaign finance one. "Influencers" aren't really journalists. BUT....when people are following you for your opinions, I think you owe it to them to say if the opinions are being paid for.
Influencers aren't journalists at all, and as a rule this is not a standard generally applied to them. Weird to start demanding it of progressives/leftists and not from, like, Nara Smith.
I'd like all influencers, regardless of their politics, to be transparent about funding as it relates to the opinions they share. I agree they aren't journalists, but they're trying to influence others through their content. I think their audience deserves to know so they can factor it in.
Also: This is one of the ethical principles for the Public Relations Society of America. Healthy debate happens when we're up front about who we're representing. We sow distrust when people find out after the fact that someone was paid to share a POV that they presented as their own thinking.
I think that would be cool! That is not how it currently works, for any influencer, and it's weird to start with leftish political content creators.
How do you know I'm starting with leftish political content creators? I've said twice that I would want this principal to apply to everyone. You're free to disagree. Please don't, however, attribute words to me that aren't mine or make assumptions about where I stand politically. It isn't helpful.
Because you're replying to this post about a liberal group funding progressive influencers, and not another post somewhere else about why that travel influencer you follow happens to be in St. Barts this week.
It's not fair to me to assume that this is the first post I've ever published on this topic on any social media platform or elsewhere. We don't know each other. Let's not make assumptions. I wish you well.
Also terms like "Dark Money" apply to campaign finance, which has different standards of transparency than just "people talking on the internet". I'd be into a world where all influencer campaigns have to be disclosed a la political ads, but that's not the world we live in. 2/2
What did you think "We need a Joe Rogan of the Left" meant? Vibes? Papers? Essays?
The fact that Democrats think you can just create a ‘Joe Rogan of the Left’ is the problem in the first place. He created his audience for 10+ years before the rightward turn and his podcast has never been exclusively about politics. This is just dark money making Charlie Kirks of the Left.
And it literally is vibes lmao. You need to de-radicalize Gen Z before convincing them to vote for you. Also: 1) Marc Maron has been the Joe Rogan of the Left for as long as both have had podcasts 2) These aren’t even the right people to give money to. You’d need people like the Cum Town guys.
Nah this is provably wrong. Also Cumtown is effectively right wing from an electoral advocacy standpoint.
Well this explains all the jackal accounts pushing the “you want to purity test democrats and will end up with Trump 3.0” the minute anyone mentions Newsom being a trans-hating piece of shit that platforms Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, and who also demolishes homeless encampments.
Bingo.
From Taylor Lorenz? Then I know it's bullshit.
“Cough” Tom Nichol…
📌
This really isn't a secret. Been going on for a decade. Both parties
How is this “wild”? Or are you just mad that Democrats are engaging in a broad messaging campaign? You know… like people who claim to be Democrats keep saying they want?
“Fight back!” “No not like that!”
Good idea, bad execution… Broad messaging campaign is good. But influencers are effective when they get to be organic, connect with their audiences and control their message. What Dems are suggesting is paid puppets with zero control of the message or even ability to reveal they’re being paid.
I just came to ask the same. What’s wild to me is that anyone pays Taylor Lorenz to write anything and that anyone should be expected to take her seriously. Crazy.
Yep. What’s REALLY wild is that Wired is trying to be one of the last remaining legitimate news outlets, yet they’d choose to sacrifice ALL credibility by publishing yet another idiotic anti-Dem hit piece by Taylor Lorenz.
And just like that💨, I find them not credible. Disappointing, as I felt that Wired and Pro Publica were the last two remaining outlets that I could rely on.
There's also Teen Vogue.
Teen Vogue has one of thee biggest Kamala Harris thrashers on staff. They blocked me here for calling them out.
*trashers
Oh! Good to know...
That lady is a nut and they need to stop legitimizing her.
Wrong rock again
crazy how many of you are fine with taking bribes to push the narratives of the powerful.
Better than Russia funding them, which is what happens on the right.
even better its israel lobbying lawmakers to do the exact opposite of what 80% of democrat voters want to happen. you only resort to this type of messaging if you realize your platform is going to be widely disliked by your own voters
It’s unethical and undemocratic and creates a race to the bottom
what is a race where one guy never starts running?
Who said don’t run? I’m saying “our secret big money donors are good because I like what they’re paying people to disguise as genuine” isn’t an ethical framework.
If it were ne or a friend or family member, I wouldn't want to be identified either. Have you not seen the absolute hell Trump & his people put his "enemies" through? Have you forgotten about that?
Cowardice isn’t a virtue. Democrats can defend people and not cave and run scared from every Republican attack. Courage is what is going to be required to fight fascism. If you have a position with any power you can’t expect to be safe while sacrificing people with no power who do it publicly.
We moved on from Russia funding half of the right wing influencers in 2 seconds so why not
Good. They should be doing this.
I'm intrigued by how quickly the whole thing is being debunked and how shitty and unreliable wired looks now.
The good thing is this was written by someone who isn't credible who was hocking cell phones on her pages then deleted ads she posted denying it. The bad thing is this was written by someone who isn't credible who was hocking cell phones on her pages then she deleted ads she posted and denied it.
📌
Are you going to ask the author of this article about why she posted that ad on her platforms and then everybody saw them and then she deleted them? So she was basically caught doing the same exact thing that she's accusing these people of doing but even shadier now actually lol.
Of course it's that dumb bitch, Lorenz.
Wow...
Yeah that's what I was referring to earlier. Yup. That's it. Pretty crazy ridiculous stuff.
She is a grade A weirdo and I don't need the media to legitimize her as a credible journalist. She's BEEN an extremely odd individual for a while now.
Totally agree. I was pretty surprised to see this actually.
So they are looking for a Joe Rogan of the left, and this is...bad? Because only Democratic influencers "push the party line"?? What the fuck are you talking about? This is what Trump's team do every day. How is this news?
This is not Rogan. Rogan can say whatever he wants. I don't know how to tell you this, but becoming a baddie is not how you oppose baddies.
People are trying things, this is what this site has been demanding for over most of a year. These things suck, but they are trying and it is disingenuous to continually yell at them for everything, especially when it comes from a hack. And no, Rogan can't say whatever he wants, that's the point.
They wanted vibes, papers, and essays
Looking into my crystal ball and seeing future headlines of ‘65% of dem astroturfers collecting 8k a month outed as trumpers’ and ‘zoomer collects millions from running 40 fake newsom dickriding accounts collecting 8k/month apiece ‘
So the left wing is using the right wing's tactics to fight the right wing?
Centrists are using right wing tactics to fight the left wing
Tim pool was paid $100k an episode by Russians Fail to see why this is shocking
$8k a month is super cheap for an influencer. Maybe they should pay more for better results?
What about when the party line is AIPAC funded and wants us to keep talking about kitchen table issues while ignoring the dictatorship and fascism stuff? What about the party line that got us here and won’t do reforms and accountability when they gain power back?
Soooo much worse than Russia funding the right wing influencers
You can always console yourselves with how dumb, controlling, and out-of-touch they remain, and how instantly their pathetic machinations against the left failed.
The post literally reported this during the campaign
good for them .
What party line? No pedophiles?
Lol, of course Pakman is a part of this.
So what?
you might have missed the revelations of the past week. check in on that before deciding if this is who you want to be associated with
Hey, how about that Newsom guy? What a smile, huh? Clearly a winner! And the way he trolls Trump, yowza!
excellent
Is this a bad thing? Propaganda works. Always has. Unilateral disarmament is good for one’s self-righteousness, but poor policy.
The amount of money sloshing around to promote right-wing causes is stunning. There’s nothing like it for promoting kindness and love and evidence-based decision-making. Quite an uneven battle. I don't think non right-wingers should try to re-create the dark web, but we should fund stronger media.
Fuck off with this pearl-clutching bs. Fascism gets WORSE over time, just to make the important reality very clear. We NEED Dem voices to be amplified.
This is written with a ridiculous amount of pearl clutching tbh.
good.
Me, a leftist: Wait, so somebody out there *is* paying people to talk up Gavin Newsom online, after all! And then it turns out this is about pro trans rights TikTok creators (who should totally get this money!), not "Democratic Party" messaging. Fucking Taylor Lorenz...
Good
Curious if Russia is involved here too.... sounds familiar.
📌
Breaking: dems absolutely refuse to try to have good policies, rather buy people out
Man, just imagine how many people are on payroll in this very comment section! Probably none of them, since complaining about purity tests is ABSOLUTELY something progressive people do when they’re not being paid!
Everyone else has agreed that influencers should not be held to the same standards as journalists or even researchers (and researchers would be allowed under some circumstances to take the money with disclosures). You can’t go back on that the moment they do something you dislike. Stay consistent.
Hey, dark money groups, my DMs are open...
www.wearechorus.com/join-chorus
I am very disappointed in you. Secrecy is never a good thing. Towing the party line is a fail. @briantylercohen.bsky.social
Let me guess: This is Officially Bad because the Democrats are doing it. Is that correct? Have I put my finger on it? Is that the tack we're taking with this one now? Because the Republicans aren't going to stop, and demanding the Democrats unilaterally disarm is stupid.
This is bad because these Blue Anon resistance grifters are helping to destroy this country by doing the RAGE BAIT bullshit posts on social media and on their podcasts or YouTube shows. This shit has to stop.
Sounds dope
Good! It's about time.
Uhhhhh....good?
Funny how a “reporter” reports on Dark Money, then a random nobody (like me) asks where Taylor gets her (dark) money from and that reporter insta-blocks the random. Funny how that works
This is a GOOD thing. It’s years behind what the right has been doing with oligarch money. Please do more.
Taylor Lorenz eh?
This is what everybody On Here has been begging for - rich liberals funding a friendly media ecosystem
So? It's time to fight fire with fire.
The influencers have every right to do this deal and take the money – but they sure as hell better be transparent about it. I wanna know when someone I follow is being paid by the Democratic Party. Or whoever they’re paid by for that matter.
This is what the influencers want too. It’s not what the party is proposing. bsky.app/profile/espi...
The fact that it’s dark money means they won’t be transparent about it, by definition. I’m glad you’re asking for that, because most of the responses here are “great, Dems should be just as shady as Rs to compete” or “who cares”.
This seems like a great idea
Do I smell the third way and aipac?
She knows because she was probably getting paid the most of that money.
Reconsidering my subscription.
Why are you publishing Taylor Lorenz?
thanks for naming the author and saving me a click
+1
+2
I remember this quote, and I recognize the Game. Really disappointed in Wired. Y’all should retract the story.
Is there a link to an application?
Taylor Lorenz? Boy, I dunno
if you all elected hillary and gave her a majority, citizens united would have ended the year it started. but nope, you elected trump instead, and surprise surprise, it's had negative consequences. truly a wild development
Or if they'd elected Al Gore, the Roberts Court would never have happened.
You mean like republicans have done for my entire life?
Whats all the pearl clutching about ? Who do you think funds Joe Rogan and Alex Jones ?
bsky.app/profile/liz.... exactly!
Yes. And the people funded like this - on the left and the right - need to be dismissed and disregarded as journalists.
What is it about the word "influencer" that makes you think this story is about journalists? Did they call out anyone who calls themselves a journalist for taking money?
I think some influencers generate influence by behaving like journalists. If people read/listen/ follow them in order to be informed then they are playing the role of a journalist.
But you're injecting that supposition into this not "reporting" on actual journalists taking money.
OK. Unfortunately, the distinction between journalists and influencers is quite blurry these days.
Fair point.
Joe rogan and Alex jones are probably the worst examples of this, they both have have massive organic fanbases that fund them- a better comparison is e.g. the daily wire or basically any conservative intellectual outlet
lol nothing about rogan was organic
"no-one I know voted for Nixon"
he was an actor and presenter before he launched a podcast. he had a budget for marketing and publicists and connections for guests and advertisers. That’s not organic, it’s just showbiz
oh if thats what you mean I totally agree, but thats not the same as supported by right-wing elite funding!
totally fair
Joe Rogan is funded by his 100 million dollar Spotify exclusivity contract. Aside from that, we don't want dark money on the left pushing a party agenda, or pushing the party towards an agenda. That's how a real progressive like Cori Bush gets primaried and ousted.
This. Exactly this. This is how we end up with fuckers like Andrew Cuomo and Hillary Clinton, and just end up with more of the same: losing and not doing shit about the impending fascism. I’m sure this “dark money” is only meant to help establishment dems who are THE problem in the Democratic Party.
'establishment'!!! Take a drink! Hey ZM got DiBlassio's endorsement, as establishment as they come and a total fail in their turn in office.
Ok baldie
You can't spell out his name?
This is how you know Zohran Mamdani has the juice. I got fuckin bots coming after me for mentioning him
big "not like that" energy (derogatory)
What is "not like that" energy and who do you think has it?
it's giving Daniel Ek
I don't know what a Daniel Ek is.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ek
Cori Bush didn't do basic constituent services. Good riddance.
Cori Bush's ass deserved to get primaried. Good riddance.
If you think I'm defending Joe Rogan, im not. I'm shitting on Spotify.
Cori Bush was a moron who sucked at her job and you are all unserious people.
Real prog??? Was the bigotry merely a bonus??? C Bush was a total asshole as it seems you are as well.
So you believe Joe Rogan’s Spotify contract - and not some dark money - is what made him shout, “Fuck you! Fuck you, Zelensky, you dirty scum! You’re leading us into nuclear war!” Really? That's a normal view that people have, is it?
I'm saying Rogan is set for life and believes everything he is saying with no need for outside financial influence. If he's getting dark money, it's like paying a duck to take a swim.
It’s virtually impossible to think of another conflict where it’s this obvious who is in the right (Ukraine) and who is in the wrong (Russia). It’s like the “2 + 2 = 4” of international affairs. No one is dumb enough to blame Ukraine - unless, of course, they’re paid shills (like Tim Pool, etc.).
Is this serious? Because the dark money folks are actively preventing democrats from winning elections cuz they keep running corporate stooges and convincing other democratic voters to vote against there interests.
So you admit being no better than joe rogan or alex jones?
The winners fund them.
People the left wing should be better than
Moral victories are for losers
I’m not talking about moral victories. I’m talking about how I don’t appreciate a dark money group controlling what these people can say about Hakeem Jeffries, or whether they can even mention him, while also forbidding them to reveal these aren’t their own opinions
If you can think of a way to convince the instagram reels dimwits not to vote for Trump again I’d love to hear it
Hey, who wouldn’t
What has being better than them got us? They fight dirty, so should we.
Did you read the article
well well well www.instagram.com/reel/DN3xSpI...
Is that a yes or a no
Did you watch the video?
What incentive do I have to answer questions from someone who blows off mine? For the third time: Did you read the article, and no I don’t mean having one of the people in it summarize it for you
The article is full of lies. You are being lied to.
Three strikes and you’re out. Bye
We tried being better than for the last decade and look at where it's gotten us
You’re mistaking “better” for “more polite,” and my patience is about done for that after the first fifty times so I’m gonna say have a good evening
So we should more politely fund left wing influencers? If 50 people have all misunderstood your point, maybe it's just not a very well made point
Thanks for the note
Did you just step out of a time machine from 2016? I think we're a bit past 'when they go low, we go high'
I said better, not weaker. If you didn’t read what it says these agreements actually involve, I do recommend it, because one of the lowest blows is against us stupid voters and our way of forming independent opinions about individual Democrats
You should get your independent opinions elsewhere, why should the party be funding anything that isn’t propaganda (and indeed many voters are stupid with stupid opinions about individual democrats)
Then why did they require that their influence be kept a secret? If they keep that secret, how am I supposed to know where “elsewhere” is? Kind of a problem
I don’t really care if you know where elsewhere is or not, the enemy is building concentration camps
Ideally influencers would be being good soldiers for free but what can u do
Sir: Goodbye
If that’s something you don’t care about then there’s nothing for us to discuss. Have a good one
Nope.
“Nope” what
You personally should consume more propaganda
yeah out here in real life, growing up in and fleeing a RW media-soaked house is how I know this is not a good development
Oh my fucking God. All these years, since God damned Hillary Clinton's campaign, I was told that Democrats take the high road too much and let the GOP get away with too much.
Read the article
Addicted to losing.
I’m addicted to reading the article before I form a take. How about you
piss off, Cliff
You’re right those moral victories are way more important than actual victories. The vulnerable, at-risk folks really needing actual victories should just suck it up and be glad we held the moral high ground.
“You’re right about this thing I imagined you said” piiiiiiss the fuck off, Cliff, if you’re going to fill my opinion in for me you don’t need me for that
Hot take 5K follower guy.
Cliff, for the third time: Piss off. I have had this same dipshit conversation with 35 other assholes who also decided “better” means whatever they want it to, and got it just as wrong as you. It’s not interesting
anyway, this shit sucks. Funding is one thing—making it a stipulation that they cannot speak against or for any politician without their permission is pure puppetry, and a huge disservice to their audiences
I'm getting the impression the naysayers may not have read this thoroughly. The problems are obvious.
Here’s hoping. Perhaps the only time I’d be gladder if the people replying hadn’t read the article first
When we go high they punch us in the jewels. Fuck that shit.
read the article
I'm not particularly interested in paying money to read shit Taylor Lorenz wrote
ok well winging it is not going to work, there’s a reason I didn’t even ask if you had read it. You’re way off
I pulled it into archive and read it. My opinion remains the same.
ok and what opinion would that be
That left-wing content creators should be paid and encouraged to create and build bigger audiences for being left-wing content creators the same way right-wing content creators are, and that overrides a lot of nothingburger concerns like this.
“The same way” being the way where the content is secretly dictated by the people paying, correct?
Thanks for wasting my time with Lorenzslop though
No they shouldn't lol
True we should just vote maga but wokely
Read the article
No. Taylor Lorenz sucks. The premise that this should be out of bounds for the left in any way, sucks.
the same consultants and strategists that thought it was smart to tell harris' campaign to stop saying republicans are weird and that liz cheney would drive crossover voters are trying to secretly bribe creators to self-censor and if you think this is good or effective youre a moron.
Why is the democratic party paying nazis like destiny and his orbiters to spew talking points
Do you know what “this” entails, or are you the 500th person to reply to me without reading the article first
I read it. I'm not put off by this, in the same way I'm not put off by Democrats accepting PAC money. I'm sick of disarming in the battle to save democracy. Some content creators can do this, and others can do other things. Nobody is making them sign on. Also...ya think??
I don’t understand why half a dozen people have told me that influencers being forbidden from *praising an individual Democrat* without secretly given permission is a weapon in the fight against MAGA. Ever optimistic, I keep thinking they missed that part
Yes. And no, it's been like 10 people, calm down "dogs aren't allowed to play basketball!" guy.
my emotional state may be a matter of interest for you, but not because you know what it is Anyway if you’re good with these folks being banned from (for instance) saying a good word about a Dem some party bigwig doesn’t like, enjoy that I guess. But there’s no reason to talk with you about it
I'm not talking with you, I'm watching the dog playing basketball dunk over your head again and again and begging you to stop playing that game.
Do you think this money has left wing origins or objectives
Nobody's dunking anything, you are delusional
Sorry, you’re begging me to do what?
Is it talking about Taylor's ridiculous bias against Democrats?
Only one way to find out, babe
Bro, I read the piece. Taylor sucks. She writes crap. This is a good idea. Listening to idiot conspiracy theorists like her the the bad one.
“This” what
The idea that dark money controls the goals and ideas of a political party should be abhorrent to every American, what the fuck is wrong with you?
Is this "controlling the goals and ideas of a political party" in this case? Are the paid influencers going to become the biggest voice in the party, and Democratic voters, activists, and politicians will follow lockstep until the party is controlled? Life is a lot more complex than that.
“I’m just a smol bean secret influence campaign”
My dude, look at anything Schumer, Booker, Pelosi and Jeffries say these days and you will have your answer.
You think that all of the centrist, enriched, establishment politicians that very much exist in the Democratic party are "taking orders" from their donors? Or are their incentives more complex than that, but it's easier to assert that it's very simple?
Shit, look at Gavin Newsome doing podcasts with fucking Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon and agreeing with them!
Is this donor and dark money driven, or is this driven by a combination of focus groups and ambition, with Gavin very much driving?
I did. The only shock - many of the influencers weren't already under said contracts. Now, "a dark money group who pushes liberal & progressive causes" wants to narrate. Great? Of course not. But nothing that the left wasn't already fully accused & convicted in "public perception" of doing.
I don’t understand what your point is
I saw nothing (thought to be) new or even anything alarming. Just a reoccurring theme. A manufactured point of contention against the left, for things we were assured they were doing already.
Well that’s depressing. 10-20 people have replied to me saying “this is fine” about elected Democrats being *chosen for them* by some wealthy donors in secret who disguise it as public opinion. I just don’t understand rolling over and dying like that
At least since Citizens United, I've been under the impression that's how almost all candidates won their primary. If they truly appeal to people (like Mamdani), dark $ doesn't stop them. That, and the names in the story that I was familiar with, already push the same party line messaging.
Wouldn’t this article indicate that your impression was wrong?
Gargle my balls
sorry no one was talking to you ❤️
Sorry I don't take criticism from gullible idiots
Good news, no one was talking about you either
Democrats aren't fucking nuns, we're trying to win power
Whatever the agreements involve, I'll be disappointed if they don't include an extensive bot campaign to artificially boost these influencers' engagement metrics. Also we need to start at $10k minimum
“Whatever the agreements involve”? Stop wasting people’s time with your bullshit. I read what the agreements involve and that’s where my opinion comes from, give it a goddamn try some time. Asshole
I'm not giving Taylor Lorenz clicks
Then don’t comment on it! Fuck’s wrong with you, talking to people like that over an article you didn’t read. Piss off
Nah, I've been called an asshole so now I just wanna fuck with you until you block me
Sounds like a plan—how about you get to it and I’ll just hit this mute button over here, now everybody wins
Its clearly not 'Left-wingers' funding this agenda nor writing the lines to push the 'message.' The left wingers are the content creators, who are selling out to the Pinky-Promise 🤞🏼 that the DNC will actually do something positive, very soon ™ SAD!!!
Maybe Democrats could just do good things and have good policies and then journalists could talk about those things
Joe Rogan got a huge deal with Spotify because of how popular he was on YouTube.
Spotify? Thiel-invested Spotify? You all let Republicans play in your face.
This isn’t even conspiratorial, Thiel existing is a conspiracy because he’s obsessed with both influencing and controlling the direction the internet takes and has for 30 years.
Thanks for admitting you have no concept of ethics and are fine with a race to the bottom.
Now do opinion writers at WaPo, NYT, WSJ…
don't Google "Taylor Lorenz 9/11" don't Google "Taylor Lorenz 9/11" don't AHHHHHH
.... that's correct though? 9/11 was a horrific terrorist attack but it didn't come from no where. All things have causes and are reactions to other things. That's how reality works. Does this pearl clutching mean Americans think 9/11 was an uncaused thing, an entirely random attack?
No, I don't think it was random. I also don't believe 3,000+ American (and other) civilians deserved to die for our foreign policy sins. I don't think a brief social media post can do justice to the topic but your reply here is a more careful and nuanced treatment than Lorenz's for sure.
She’s still trying to butter up to Hasan Piker? Embarrassing
8k a month!? God, I wish that were me-- er, I mean, damn, what vapid sellouts they are. Rabble rabble....
Dems should do more of this
And?
As much as I want to run with this to shit on Schumer you know damn well Lorenz is probably doing this to cover her ass after being caught saying Nazis are nicer than Democrats
This is good, actually. Only thing wrong is there could be more money invested.
So what?
taylor lorenz is a crazy person
I see a lot of destroyed mirrors from blue MAGA.
You guys fucking suck
Why does it have to be dark money? Id gladly support someone who promotes the truth for the betterment of our country.
I did not notice it was written by Taylor lorenz, reposting was a mistake
Whatever it takes to get Trump and Republicans out of office.
I'm not reading a damn thing from that nutjob and you shouldn't be either.
Oh no, not Dems paying influence to influence in their favor. I must clutch my pearls how dare they try to win.
Good.
I am more concerned with the rise of fascism in this country.
Then you should understand the role of propaganda in fascism
Yeah, and combating it.
Taylor Lorenz? You've just gutted some of the respect and cred from the past six months of coverage. Lorenz has repeatedly lied about things she posted/didn't post online, for starters. Her ethical compass is questionable, as is yours now. You should be ashamed.
But only if you keep it a screen which is why it is headline news
No. The dark part is not knowing the underlying donor’s names, not that the donations exist.
What is the truly wild story supposed to be?
Cancelled subscription to Wired. I subscribed to support real journalists
I paused it...for now.
The terms in the contract are objectively not great (the part where you have to rope in Chorus for any involvement with politicians is janky, for example) but also, I assume, the same you see for RW influencers. But considering Tim Pool got $100k an episode from Russia, $8k/mo seems cheap.
But there is deep irony in Taylor Lorenz writing an article about people being influenced by their paid sponsors when she's hocking a cell phone for kids while writing articles about how cell phone bans in schools are bad for...reasons. www.reddit.com/r/h3h3produc...
Do people not realize that this dark money is motivated based on class? These are the same people who donate to Republicans and are looking to hedge against a Democratic showing in the primaries. They are not altruistic! They are infiltrating! Please think instead of having peasant-brain!
this sounds like a good plan and I am unsurprised that ms. lorenz finds it objectionable because she is a crank
It’s fine with me as long as we are having to fight against the oligarchs behind Trump who are doing this very thing. Our purity will kill us.
“As long as our oligarchs win, we can defeat oligarchy!”
Who do you think is putting up $8,000/month to pay top accounts to push a message increasingly out of touch with what the Democratic base is asking for?
Who? What message?
This endeavor is likely funded by the same oligarchs that back Trump, since we already know the national party has no issues sharing megadonors with the GOP.
Wrong. It’s corrupt and undemocratic. Democrats should not be hiding from us who the individuals are that donate to them. Things don’t become ethical because “they do it too.”
You should hide & stop sabotaging the effort to save democracy
You should grow up
Every accusation is a confession with you people
…and?
Any program giving Olivia Juliana $8000 a month is a huge, unethical waste of money.
What about the Russians paying Tim Pool and pals? I have really been liking Wired, subscribed, and have encouraged others to. Then y’all go publish a yellow journalism piece by Taylor Lorenz. You should pull that thing and apologize.
Let’s get this re-reported by someone credible please.
The Left: “Where’s the money for our content creators?” Somebody starts cutting checks to Left content creators. Also, The Left: “HOW DARE YOU?” Also, the facts of this story are shifting and you should ask yourselves: is Taylor Lorenz ratfucking these Left content creators?
If it’s not a big deal they were getting the money then it’s not a big ask that they disclose it 🤷🏻♀️ Also left? 😂
I think dark money is bad and creators should disclose if they are receiving money.
Yeah, like literally even if there was a group paying paying to support trans rights and they were being sneaky and non-transparent about it I'd still be pretty suspicious and concerned.
Yes we need to hold onto the moral high ground. Very important. At least we’ll feel good about ourselves.
So you recognize it’s the morally correct thing to do.
it's such an indictment of your person that you seem to think morals are just something you have to feel good about yourself. at the same time very on brand for a liberal tho
Morals pontification without action is all about feeling better about yourself. I’m more concerned about vulnerable people and communities who need more than moral high ground and moral victories.
yes, 'vulnerable people and communities', such as, for instance, trans people? whom newsom is specifically throwing under the bus? or palestinians? who are subject to a genocide and whom you are forbidden from mentioning per this deal? also you talk like chatgpt
Speaking in debunked talking points is so amazing.
They want to be miserable
Do you think the Democrats are left wing
I think in a rigid ass 2 party system progressives need to take over the Democratic Party at every level. Or are you a “revolutionary” paoster?
That doesn't answer my question. And why does the 2 party system need to exist?
You got a solution? Switch to a parliamentary system? “Overthrow the government?” Good luck.
make a new party.
So… a third party.
Yes.
This is such an absurd thing to say for many reasons. 1. These are liberals 2. Its no longer journalism when they're taking dark money. 3. Who on the left is saying that? Youre doing the " people are saying" trope. How trumpian
1. People on the Left have been looking for investment in Left politics and Left content creation for decades, since AT LEAST Rush Limbaugh. Maybe you haven’t. I don’t know you but people on the Left trying to do stuff and that usually involves some money. 2. Read up on coalition politics.
The big issue is that they are influencers being paid, which you are supposed to disclose and they didn’t. Also they were prohibited from discussing certain things. The “debunking” was done by the influencers. Lorenz actually did research. Hate her all you want, but she didn’t lie.
I personally think you should be going and fucking yourself for defending dark money astroturfing in politics but that's just me.
Taylor Lorenz admitted the creators aren’t told what to publish, you fell for some REALLY manipulative framing Good job
Riiiight?! Let's seem them post about inequality, taxing the wealthy more, universal health care, and guaranteed living incomes, rent caps, four day weeks etc and see how long the money keeps coming in, lol.
Oh no Left voices getting help learning how to develop, promote and monetize their content! A violation of Left principles!
You need to do additional reading on this story because you’re going off after reading A TAYLOR LORENZ piece.
so, you do realize what social media you're on, right? go back to Twitter, you fucking loser 😂
They are not "left" by any normal definition
What the fuck are you talking about you stupid fucking moron
What left content creators? The shitlibs defending the Vichy Party?
Those influencers got paid to protect the Democrats from valid criticism. Think critically.
This is not what my wired subscription should be paying for. Taylor Lorentz is a bad journalist and I don't like my money going to her.
I subscribed just a few weeks ago and now I'm kind of sorry I did. Lorentz hops from job to job; I wonder why.
Especially not for a ratfucking hit piece like this.
Yeah, her doing the work to find creepy bad guy donors who want to control who you can vote for, and suppress any idea that threatens them is terrible. The way she brings out misogynists is amazing. Even the weird, mean girl internalized stuff. She's not the problem here.
This is not ratfucking. Why would you want the people in your movement to be beholden to an unknown group with unknown motivations? A group that has specifically asked for their anonymity as a requirement for the arrangement.
i dunno man, reminds me of Mr Robot and i really liked that show
Exactly. We need transparency and integrity. I understand you needing to get your bank, but you could at least let us know who’s paying you so we can research and see what they’re about :/
A group who will exchange something they have (money) for something they dont have (legitimacy.) A legitimacy that they can not earn with a clear statement of intent. This is someone powerful who knows they need to launder a message. Otherwise, it would be unpopular. Thats the issue.
You're assuming that they require anonymity because their ideas are unpopular. That's completely ignorant of the current hybrid autocracy in the US where the Trump admin is currently trying to unjustly prosecute Alex Soros and any other dem funder they can get.
And here you are scrambling for an excuse for someone who didn't even want to tell you who they are? We should just let the online personalities endanger themselves instead if thats what you think is happening. Be real, this money is to support the ruling class who is hedging against the midterms.
You are so brave to be speaking out against anonymous donations combatting a wannabe dictator who wants to arrest his opponents from a pseudonymous social media account.
These aren't donations. Donations do not come with strings attached. This is a funded infiltration designed in the best interest of a group with large amounts of money. You want to fight facism, yet here you are licking the boot because it is blue.
And this is obviously hypocritical ratfucking because it's coming from Taylor Lorenz, who is now threatening to sue someone from vox for correctly reporting that she was trying to do paid advertising for a child smartphone company.
Lorenz is further left than the people who are getting paid! She is more left than the dems! Further left on Gaza, on ICE, Immigration, Covid, mass surveilance, on and on.
Fuck off with this idea that Lorenz is a leftist.
Jesus fucking christ man. She's not my friend, check your energy at the door. She literally writes articles about her viewpoints. Its in the public record.
Stop treating her like she's a genuine leftist, or do you just like her for the "vibes"?
Taylor "The Nazis were nice to me, actually" Lorenz.
If Taylor "Nazis are cool IRL" Lorenz is the left - then we need to rip that group out of the party, salt the earth, and set fire to it to make sure that it never comes back.
Is that what she said? I can never tell if it's a lack of reading comprehension, or if the misogyny around her is so bad that posters desperate to be in the in group just presuppose bad faith. She made a mistake in that post. It's not what you think it was. And it doesn't make her the enemy.
But you're sad Jeffries supporter, so it's probably that you're on a different payroll. I bet I'll find Newdom apologia too. But you hate fascists, right? Lol
Yes the most bad faith reading of what she said. She said even Nazi's know you have to present a sympathetic face if you want to bring people into your movement. A statement that is correct and something the left needs to work on.
Said in response to someone on the left telling her to stop complaining about covid individualism as an immunocompromised person and that natural selection should take care of her problem anyway. A clearly Nazi and eugenecist statement.
No, the left has done enough damage to this country in electing Trump twice. You've never once bothered to look at whose funding her Patreon, and you've never bothered to even look at whose funding all of the influencers that persuaded you to help put Trump into office. You're hypocrites.
If you are defending what Lorenz is calling out in the article, then you're saying "fascist tactics are cool". Fix your brain.
They're a hardcore Jeffries defender. Lots of centrist stuff in their feed. They may be a part of a different bot or troll network, or just blue maga.
Paying influencers is not fascism. You had no problem with the influencers who helped Netanyahu get Trump back into office by telling you to stay home. You didn't check who paid THEM. You just nodded your head and fucked over the planet while they got paid to ensure the tax cuts were passed.
Do you know how SuperPacs work goofey?
Good, we need more of this
smells like a bullshit story
No different to what Putin did during his first election. Fund far left and far right let them fight and then the cherry… let everyone know you did that.
Dark money needs to be removed from politics on both sides. Politicians and media (which is what influencers are) can only be free to do what is right and support the Constitution if they don’t have some shadow puppeteers pulling their strings.
Well we have no plans or strategies to do that in the short term, so malicious compliance is the best way to fight it
Y'all should be really embarrassed by this one.
Hilarious.
Now do a story about all the dark money funding Republicans. Donald Trump received hundreds of millions in 2024 race. Or are you not interested in far and balanced reporting?
There are tons of stories about that. Did you miss the Russia funding podcasters report from last year? It’s just as important that we know who is paying to try to influence us and control the narrative as it is the right wing. Dark money works against us all, no matter which side.
Democrats stay blaming anyone but themselves for their electoral incompetence
Love the scum in these replies rolling in here with: "so what? It's absolutely okay to pay influencers 8K a month to never mention the genocide. That's what every lesser evil party would do". ROFL I love when they're telling on themselves
At this rate they're going to lose the "lesser evil" status any day now.
They have less people speaking out against the genocide than the right at this point and yet they still haven't lost the lesser evil status...so I don't have much hope
My girlfriend, I know I bother you when I ask you for help, but severe malnutrition will soon kill my family, I swear, I beg you, stand with me, and be the reason to save my family of 8 who haven't eaten for a long time, I swear. 😭💔🙏💔🙏
Oh man the replies are truly cancer. 🤮
Idgaf
who cares - seriously who the hell cares
you'd have to pay me a lot more than that to push their garbage party line lmao
Yes, because paying people to support you is far more authentic than having people authentically support you. Anything but changing policies, I guess.
The whole media/social media sphere is so right leaning, Dems are barely able to get their messages out, & even then, the messages are distorted before people even hear them. Glad to see Dems attempt to compete. If Russians could pay for influencers, why not Dems? apnews.com/article/russ...
EXACTLY. We need a Cyber NATO with all countries fighting back.
NATO is on life support And so is the warmongering Democratic party. For god’s sake stop trying to be Republican Lite It isn’t working
There has never been a stronger difference between the two parties in policy in my lifetime. Probably in decades. That’s kinda dumb and very pre-fascist takeover of the GOP. To say that you either are GOP, used to vote GOP or get all your political info on TikTok.
Everything you just said is 100% wrong. Also stupid. Wrong and stupid. Breathtakingly stupid and wrong really.
In fact no one can be this stupid. Thinking more just a paid troll.
Taylor Lorenz? Woof.
I found them annoying while watching the Dem Convention. But I’m old and grumpy and think that’s a ridiculous amount of money to waste.
"a truly wild story from one of the ones that accepted the deal and pivoted from far-right content conspicuously fast in 2022"
Good where do I sign up ..
WOOOOOOOOO. Shut up. 🙄
Why are my subscription money going to Lorenz?!
Dismayed to find this out. And just like that, Wired is sketchy to me.
Unless you want republicans to win bitching about this type of thing or trying to frame it as “scandal” is masochistic loser shit and a mentality we need to just destroy entirely inshallah.
More likely this story is planted by dark money to torment suspicion against dems.
If a small number of wealthy donors controls influencers' messaging it will fail because they'll filter out progressive policies and push the usual failed neoliberal crap.
@katmabu.bsky.social I see you mentioned in this article...can you confirm that you were never a part of chorus and that they just used your image without your consent?
Ooooo, really? Hmmm. And here she is, running for Jan Schakowsky’s 9th District House seat in IL. Taking Dark Money? Hah, the media will have a field day with this. Oh, wait. There is no media.
The story literally says they used her image without permission and she asked to have it removed.
That is not the same as “She didn’t take money for posting Democratic messages,” which calls into question what she actually believes and will actually do as a member of the US House representing people from a district she barely knows and where she does not live and has not previously served.
Whatever, Blue MAGA weirdo.
Look, I live in the 9th where she’s running. I’m not an extremist, but it’s hard to muster up support for someone who isn’t from here, has no legislative track record to evaluate and might have taken money to push views *that might not even be hers.* Point is, we don’t know.
This shady group paying influencers is made up of people on your side. The ones who don't want progress and just want generic corporate dems. You're the weirdo.
I don’t care that someone pays an influencer to push a particular opinion. (Both sides do it.) But if that influencer then runs for office, how do we know that it was really their opinion, or if they were just paid to say it? I feel like I can’t trust her. That’s all I’m saying.
She wasn't paid by these people! What do you not understand!
She didn’t say that. She just wants her picture taken down because she didn’t approve its use. That is not the same as saying she did not take their money. Go back and read the OP
🤷🏿♀️
If this sounds based to you here's their donation page: secure.actblue.com/donate/choru...
Gee, where was a story like this that reported what the republicans have been doing during the past thirty years?
So, it’s a “catch and kill” op. He can’t even be sure it’s funded from the left. It could be the right trying to keep the main stream of the Democratic Party on. It’s failing Road.
Nice way to toast your publications credibility by letting a hack fuck lying “journalist” write for your publication.
Taylor Lorenz is a Bernie Sanders leftist. Of course she’s trying to smear liberal influencers. Leftists just can’t take the hint can they.
Leftist or grifter cause I'm pretty sure it's the second and not the first. Isn't Hasan a Leftist streamer for instance, should he not be allowed to make money from it? It's just weird. As long as it's transparent, which it apparently is, who cares?
Yep. Unfollowed her a long time ago.
Yes and I suspect because of my original comment, some leftist freak added me to a list this afternoon. I consider it a badge of honor. Leftist tankies have no clue how anything works. They are idiots.
lol, how do you get these notifications?
You follow one of these. I was following “listifications” but the block notifications were unhelpful. I now follow the other one, so I know if someone adds me to a starter pack.. I’d like to thank them.
This is who it was..
Yes exactly. What a loser.
Sorry that reality has a left leaning bias.
The same Taylor Lorenz crying foul for being called out for supporting Bark Mobile with "ads" and "in partnership with" social posts that turned out to NOT be ads or partnerships. She can't even do fake influencer right. Why is my @wired.com subscription helping to fund her @leahfeiger.bsky.social ?
Nearly every job has some shitty rules like this. You can either fight it, quit or give part of your paycheck to an organization that supports the cause your employer doesn't want YOU talking about on their dime. This isn't complicated.
Yay if true (sincere). But also Lorenz 🤮
fucking LOL that this “source” is taken seriously
It’s about damn time! (Any support implicitly comes with strings attached, even if they aren’t explicitly spelled out.)
Is there a crime here? How is this any different or even on the same level as Fox News, Newsmax, right wing influencers… ? I don’t understand what the supposed scandal is or why I should care.
IDGAF we are up against nazzies and neoconfederates. This is prob a well timed hit piece with its own GOP dark money op behind it
Will not be re-upping my subscription to Wired if this kind of poorly-reported ratfucking from Lorenz becomes the editorial line.
Remember that Benny Johnson is literally funded by Russia?
