Influencers Were Secretly Paid For Posts Defending Paxton, TX Ethics Panel Says That Will Now Be Illegal

The Texas Tribune reports:

Texas’ top campaign finance watchdog voted Tuesday to require social media figures to disclose when they are paid for political advertisement, nearly a year after The Texas Tribune reported that influencers were being quietly paid to defend impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton. In a 7-0 vote, the Texas Ethics Commission gave final approval to the changes, which were first proposed in March.

Last summer, the Tribune reported on a new company, Influenceable, that was paying Gen Z influencers to create or share social media posts that attacked the impeachment process and the Texas Republicans leading it, including House Speaker Dade Phelan. Influenceable has a partnership with Campaign Nucleus, a digital campaign service that was founded by Brad Parscale, a top official on former President Donald Trump’s last two campaigns.

Read the full article.

JUST IN: Social media influencers will be required to disclose paid political advertisements in Texas under a new rule approved Tuesday. Vote came months after we reported that a company quietly paid influencers to defend impeached AG Ken Paxton. #txlegehttps://t.co/n7a2nrlZkl

— Robert Downen (@RobertDownen_) June 18, 2024