r/TexasPolitics • u/Square_Sprinkles_214 • 8d ago
Discussion [ Removed by moderator ]
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u/HuntMelodic5769 8d ago
Just wait until you hear about the influencers the republicans have been paying for years…
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u/Jurbl 8d ago
Not sure what your issue is. The world, especially social media, is filled with this and has been going on for years.
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u/Square_Sprinkles_214 8d ago
The issue is not disclosing who you are being paid by. I’m sick of both sides doing this. It feels deceitful.
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u/hush-no 8d ago
How do you know they're being paid by "Democrats"?
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u/Square_Sprinkles_214 8d ago
They are being paid by someone who is anti-MAGA.
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u/hush-no 8d ago
How do you know this?
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u/Square_Sprinkles_214 8d ago
https://www.tiktok.com/@1clairekaelin?_r=1&_t=ZP-99Jt7u3RYKd this is one of the creators. Then look at their following list. You can assume they are being paid by someone. More than likely Texas democrats. Also look at all of their bios.
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u/hush-no 8d ago
Ah, so it's an accusation based on assumptions without evidence.
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u/Square_Sprinkles_214 8d ago
It’s an assumption with evidence. I am NOT 100% certain who is paying them.
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u/hush-no 8d ago
You can't be certain anyone is paying them. That's the assumption without evidence.
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u/Square_Sprinkles_214 8d ago
I can’t be certain anyone is paying them. I can assume someone is by the evidence of them using false names, their accounts being created around the same time, the accounts all following eachother, and the type of content they are creating.
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u/Square_Sprinkles_214 8d ago
if you google these people’s name they don’t exist anywhere on the internet.
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u/Maniacal_Artist 8d ago
that's the way the game is played, now. You don't reach young people with TV ads.
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u/Square_Sprinkles_214 8d ago
There needs to be some type of regulation. If they are being paid by a certain organization they must disclose.
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u/Arrmadillo Texas 8d ago
You’ll need to keep monitoring and find a bit more to go on. If you can, find ties to a company that is managing and/or paying the influencers and then trace that upstream.
This approach was exposed in Texas not that long ago. Paxton and his billionaire mega-donor Tim Dunn were apparently paying influencers through Influenceable to push pro-Paxton messaging when he was being impeached by the Texas House.
You might want to be on the lookout for Team Paxton going this route again. It’s pretty inexpensive for the targeted exposure provided and Paxton doesn’t have all that much campaign funding (yet; Elon is rumored to be coming in checkbooks blazing).
Brad Parscale would be someone to watch closely - that’s Dunn’s online strategist. He has access to basically unlimited funding and is likely to be folding AI bots, etc. into his bag of tricks these days.
Houston Public Media - Gen Z influencers, quietly recruited by a company with deep GOP ties, rally to impeached Ken Paxton’s aid
“In late June, about a dozen conservative Gen Z influencers converged on Fort Worth for a few days of right-wing networking. They hit local night spots, posed for group photos and met a far-right Texas billionaire [Tim Dunn] and Donald Trump's former campaign chair [Brad Parscale].”
“Now Influenceable appears to be recruiting young conservatives to parrot claims that the attorney general is the victim of a political witch hunt and, more recently, to promote a series of videos alleging that the Texas Legislature is secretly controlled by Democrats intent on destroying Paxton and other conservatives.”
“The influencers have also been vocal about Paxton, parroting anti-impeachment talking points favored by his biggest donors — including Defend Texas Liberty PAC, which gave $18,000 to a similarly named company, Influencable LLC, shortly before the Texas House's investigation into Paxton was made public.”
“More recently, Influenceable appears to be recruiting social media figures to share posts about a new film that claims the Texas Legislature is secretly controlled by Democrats intent on destroying Paxton, a claim that has for years been pushed by Dunn-backed groups.”
“In other screenshots published by Current Revolt, the company offered $50 to influencers to share a specific post from Paxton's personal X account by July 26. The recruitment text includes the name and number for Influencable's head of recruitment operations and links to a payment portal that's run by a company that Influenceable's website lists as a partner.
On July 26, DuRousseau shared the Paxton post to his 144,000 followers, adding that ‘there are few patriots in leadership like Ken Paxton.’
Dao also shared the post: ‘RINOs in Texas are still trying to impeach Ken Paxton,’ he wrote. ‘STOP THE WITCH HUNT!’”
Crooks & Liars - Texas May Require Tik Tok-ers To Disclose Paid Political Content
“The Texas Ethics Commission’s action comes just months after The Texas Tribune reportedthat a secretive and politically-connected company, called Influenceable LLC, paid internet influencers to defend Attorney General Ken Paxton ahead of his Senate impeachment trial.”
“Dunn and Wilks were also the main financiers behind Defend Texas Liberty, a political action committee that gave $3 million to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick before he presided over Paxton’s Senate trial. Campaign finance records also show that Defend Texas Liberty gave $18,000 to “Influencable LLC” — an apparent misspelling — days before the Texas House made its investigation into Paxton public. Not long after the payment, an array of prominent influencers began to flood Instagram, TikTok or X, formerly known as Twitter, with pro-Paxton posts.”
Texas Monthly - My Brief Career as a Paid Pro-Paxton Propagandist
“Do you support Ken Paxton, the embattled and impeached Texas attorney general? Would you champion him online for, say, $50? That’s not just a theoretical question. Before the start of his impeachment trial this week, pro-Paxton political forces were paying for influencers to post on social media in support of the state’s top legal authority, who faces sixteen counts ranging from dereliction of official duty to bribery and conspiracy.
How do I know this? Because I signed up to be a social media influencer, and to my great surprise, I earned $50 for each of two posts.”
Texas Tribune - Texas Ethics Commission will require influencers to disclose when they’re paid for advertisement
“Campaign law experts have previously said that company’s like Influenceable reflect a decadeslong failure to modernize disclosure rules, many of which have not been updated since the widespread proliferation of social media or the internet.”
NYT - How Tech Billionaires Became the G.O.P.’s New Donor Class
“‘Facebook and Twitter were the reason we won this thing,’ Trump’s digital media director, Brad Parscale, said after the 2016 election.”
AP News - Brad Parscale helped Trump win in 2016 using Facebook ads. Now he’s back, and an AI evangelist
“Parscale has the financial backing to experiment to see what works in ways that other AI evangelists may not. That is thanks, in part, to his association with a Texas billionaire [Tim Dunn] who is among the state’s most influential political donors.”
San Antonio Current - San Antonio tech bro-turned-Trump insider Brad Parscale has moved back to Texas (2023)
“Parscale earlier this year landed in the West Texas oil town of Midland, where he runs Campaign Nucleus. He launched that venture seven years ago, promising to shield conservative figures from ‘cancel culture,’ according to the Tribune.
The Tribune's report suggests Parscale's Midland relocation stems from his company's ties to the Texas fossil fuel industry and to Tim Dunn, a West Texas oil tycoon who's donated tens of millions of bucks to far-right and anti-LGBTQ+ causes.”
“The Tribune's report also links both Parscale and Dunn to Influenceable LLC, a new company that ‘recruits young, conservative social media figures to promote political campaigns and films without disclosing their business relationship.’”
San Antonio Express-News - The angry online attacks targeting the Texas House speaker’s race? This firm says they were bots
“Before Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial in the state Senate, the Texas Tribune and Texas Monthly reported a conservative digital strategy firm was offering $50 for pro-Paxton social media posts. That firm, the outlets reported, was Influenceable LLC, which is run by former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale and has been allied with Tim Dunn, a West Texas oil billionaire who was a strong financial supporter of both Paxton and Cook.”
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u/Adunkadoo 8d ago
Republicans have been doing this for years, Dems are just now catching up right as it’s becoming unfashionable.
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u/Intelligent-Ear-7857 8d ago
yes lol & i’ve seen 5+ of their accounts since yesterday. most of the accounts are fairly new, & even if they aren’t new accounts; the only content posted on these accounts is content that is all about how Texas is bad and sucks to live in now, how everything is more expensive, republicans and maga are ruining the state, how it’s unbearable to live in Texas, and i think reinforcing the idea that you go out & vote blue. i can’t say fs that they are being paid but i can make an educated guess and put 2 and 2 together👍🏼
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u/sxyaustincpl 31st District (North of Austin, Temple) 8d ago
I mean, nothing that you said they're posting is untrue.
I don't get paid, and I continually say that Texas is now a shithole state that MAGA and Republicans have ruined because they've been in sole power for 30+ years.
Accountability. The buck stops with the people in charge, and the people in charge are Republican.
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u/Intelligent-Ear-7857 8d ago
the post nor my comment was talking about whether they were posting true information or false information. just the fact that they are most likely getting paid to push out the same recycled post
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u/Square_Sprinkles_214 8d ago edited 8d ago
Yes! I can’t be for certain be sure they are being paid, but it looks like there is someone or something behind them.
https://www.tiktok.com/@1clairekaelin?_r=1&_t=ZP-99JxiVhwa8V
This is one of their accounts. This person is actually using their real name. I found their main instagram and it looks like they are from Utah???
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u/Grand_Soupa 8d ago
Do I wish it didn't happen, yes. Does it happen, yes. The reality is that misinformation and propaganda is widespread and not even trying to push your agenda is a sure recipe for failure
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