California is one of two states, along with Texas, that have passed policies requiring content creators to say if they’ve been paid by a political campaign to post, and the Golden State is considering cracking down by fining people who don’t.
Campaigns have long worked with celebrities and major influencers to win over voters, but now they are teaming up with smaller creators — sometimes with fewer than 100,000 followers — to reach more tailored audiences. That has sparked debates about whether disclosure rules for political advertisements should apply to content creators, who are expected to play prominent roles in the upcoming midterms and the 2028 presidential election.
Let’s start with politicians who don’t disclose they were paid by lobbyists. Making “lobbying” a valid thing means nothing more than systemically approving “payoffs”. God forbid I should hire a writer with a sharp tongue just because I don’t have the wits about me to do so myself.