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Pro-Biden PAC launches $1 million campaign to pay social media influencers – POLITICO

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LaToi Storr, a 42-year-old content creator and lifestyle blogger based in Philadelphia, normally posts Instagram and TikTok videos of local restaurants and skincare tips, mingled with some community-focused material on Black mental health care.

Last fall, she started posting a new kind of message on her feeds.

In an
Instagram reel
in October, she urged her 16,500 followers to register for a Pennsylvania election for state judges and district attorneys. She posted the same
video on TikTok
. Then, she posted
another reel
reminding people to get out to vote.

For her political posts, she was paid by Priorities USA, a super PAC supporting President Joe Biden’s reelection.

The influential Democratic PAC is spending $1 million for its first-ever “creator” program, enlisting Storr and 150 other influencers to post on social media in the 2024 election cycle, according to details first shared with POLITICO.

The effort is part of a larger Democratic strategy to lure young voters in battleground states, who
polls show
are
increasingly critical
of Biden, whether over his age or issues like his
stance towards Israel
. Biden’s reelection campaign itself is amping up its
work with social media influencers
in 2024, though those partnerships are currently unpaid, Daniel Wessel, a Biden campaign spokesperson, told POLITICO. The White House team separately is also flexing its creator game, throwing its first-ever influencer
Christmas party
last December.

Other liberal PACs, including
NextGen America
and
American Bridge
, deployed paid influencer campaigns in the 2022 midterms. But Priorities USA’s creator campaign amounts to a stamp of approval from one of the most influential partisan political action committees — with a new approach using both local and national influencers — and part of a sharp shift in how campaigns are pivoting online to reach voters.

The investment highlights just how much social media has changed from previous campaign cycles when the platforms were newer and candidates like Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders could enjoy free support from young voters. Democratic PACs’ move to pay directly for backing also underscores just how much Biden is
struggling
to go viral with the young voters
and influencers
whose support is crucial to the party in 2024.

Priorities plans
to transition all its spending to digital communications
in 2024, and sees the influencer campaign as key to reaching people who don’t see typical campaign ads on TV. As it does, however, it is running into platforms’ at-times confusing guidelines on political ads — and appears to have violated some policies banning paid political content on TikTok.

With few federal regulations over campaign advertising on social media, each platform sets its own rules. TikTok has the strictest policy —
banning political advertising
entirely, including
branded political content from creators
. Instagram and Facebook, owned by Meta, allow for paid political ads and
sponsored political content
from creators as long as the group is registered in its ad library. (
Priorities is listed
.) And X, formerly Twitter,
lifted its political ads
ban last year.

The policies appear to be poorly enforced. After POLITICO shared five TikTok videos from August and October from national creators paid by Priorities, TikTok removed four of them for violating their branded content policies on political issues.

Similarly, Storr said one of her TikTok videos she posted on Oct. 27 encouraging people to vote in last November’s Pennsylvania election was removed by TikTok for violating its branded content policy.

However, the same video she posted
on Instagram
remains — showing how far platforms’ rules can diverge around paid political content.

Jack Doyle, a Priorities spokesperson, said the group is committed to following guidelines from TikTok and the other platforms it’s using. “If content is taken down, our general practice is to work with the social media company to understand why,” Doyle said. “We look forward to working with TikTok throughout the cycle.”

When asked about how it’s following TikTok’s branded content requirements, the group said its paid creator content is “storytelling focused,” and the group works with creators to “talk about their lived experiences.”

***

Social media is a far more fragmented landscape than traditional media, and “micro-influencers” like Storr — small creators with fewer than 100,000 followers — can be important in reaching highly targeted, and often very local, younger voter groups.

Priorities’ current strategy mixes micro-influencers with bigger, more expensive national influencers to spread messages in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, Danielle Butterfield, Priorities’ executive director, told POLITICO.

Storr has been paid approximately $1,000 in total for the several TikTok and Instagram posts she’s made so far. She says she supports Biden’s reelection because he aligns with her “personal values the most,” and wants to use her videos to talk about Black maternal health issues and encourage people to get politically involved — taking their conversations “from the platforms to the polls.”

To political action committees, that kind of connection offers a unique opportunity to directly reach young voters — especially since polling shows a third of people under age 30
get their news on TikTok
. In the coming year, Priorities says it plans to pay for creators to make videos on TikTok and Instagram — and eventually YouTube — to discuss topics like the economy, abortion access and democracy.

“As we looked to 2024, we felt like it was important to reach voters where they were spending their time,” Butterfield said, and that was increasingly on TikTok.

“We’re going to have a ton of success in marketing Biden’s accomplishments when we can anchor it in terms of impact and real people and putting some personality behind what Biden’s accomplishments are doing,” she said.

Patrick Kelly, 24, a content creator who works in government affairs in Washington, D.C., for his day job, is also part of Priorities’ creator program. Kelly is originally from Philadelphia; ahead of the Pennsylvania elections, Priorities reached out to pay him in the 4-figure range to
create videos on TikTok
and
Instagram
to reach his network.

Like Storr, he sees the political posts as organically connected to his own beliefs, and wants to use his large TikTok presence — with 67,500 followers — to motivate his generation to vote for Biden. “[A]nything that I can do to help out with the upcoming elections, I want to take advantage of that opportunity,” he said.

Priorities is also paying larger amounts to bigger influencers, those with 100,000 or more followers, in order to amplify voices from local community leaders and expand messaging on key Democratic issues like education and voting access to national audiences.

Priorities says that it does not script the videos or give creators like Storr and Kelly direct talking points — but it does brief them on internal polling and the group’s messaging, as well as best practices. “It’s however abortion is impacting their life or however they kind of want to talk about democracy. We’re gonna leave it up to them to do that,” Butterfield said.

***

Each influencer puts his or her own spin on the Priorities videos. Alex Pearlman, a comedian and content creator in Philadelphia with 2.3 million TikTok followers and 70,000 Instagram followers, deployed his wry humor in his rant-style video reminding people to vote in the 2023 Pennsylvania election. (Priorities said it paid Pearlman as part of its program; his agent didn’t respond to a request for comment.) “You’ll be surprised by how much change you make right here at home, and then we can all get back to doomscrolling,” he said in an
Instagram Reel
for Priorities last October.

Other influencers share how political events impact them personally. Priorities recruited Raven Schwam-Curtis, 25, a Gen Z content creator in Chicago who discusses race, religion and politics for her 101,000 TikTok followers. Priorities paid Schwam-Curtis to create a TikTok
video last October
after Rep. Mike Johnson was elected as the House Speaker. (Her follower count qualifies her as a “macro” influencer, though she declined to share how much she was paid.) Her video criticized his anti-LGBTQ+ stance and support of the “big lie” that Trump won the 2020 election.

“I don’t think you realize how dangerous it is to have someone this right, this conservative, this MAGA-affiliated in that kind of position of power,” she said in the video. “As someone who is queer, black, Jewish and a woman, this literally flies in the face of my entire world view and violates my religious freedoms.”

Butterfield said Priorities is particularly targeting young people and people of color this year, and their internal research has found black voters are more than twice as likely to have used TikTok in the past week compared to all voters. Based on their internal data, Priorities found TikTok was better at reaching younger audiences — under age 44 — with its paid creator videos than YouTube, where it ran paid ads last in the platform’s search function last August.

So far, Democratic groups appear to be pursuing paid partnerships more aggressively than Republicans in the 2024 election cycle.

Currently, the Trump campaign doesn’t pay for influencers or posts, according to a Trump campaign adviser who was granted anonymity to speak about campaign operations. The adviser didn’t say if it planned to change that strategy after the primaries.

Trump’s super PAC — MAGA Inc. — did not respond to a request on whether it’s paying influencers.

Trump spent
over $1 million
in his 2020 presidential campaign to social media influencer firm Legendary Campaigns to drive online engagement,
according to his FEC filings
, although the filing didn’t specify whether creators were directly paid.

Currently, the Republican National Committee told POLITICO that its RNC Youth Advocacy Council, made up of millennial and Gen Z individuals, is working with nearly 40 influencers to promote RNC initiatives, including messaging surrounding the GOP debates. However, the RNC said it has not paid influencers for this campaign cycle.

***

Few federal guidelines regulate social media influencer paid partnerships in politics.

The Federal Trade Commission revised a
regulation last July that required endorsements
by social media influencers to “clearly and conspicuously” disclose their paid partnerships. The Securities and Election Commission has said its current regulatory scheme covers social media influencers involved in endorsements of financial products, even
charging Kim Kardsahian
in October 2022 for not disclosing payments for promoting a crypto asset.

But the Federal Election Commission recently punted on an opportunity to regulate social media influencers in the political realm. In a
December rulemaking
that modernized its regulations related to internet communications, the agency decided not to require paid social media influencers to disclose they’re paid by another group to post election-related content. Two Democratic FEC commissioners issued a
separate joint statement
saying the agency missed a “golden opportunity” to address this increasingly significant form of paid advertising.

Butterfield said Priorities’ campaign is following current federal regulations. But when it comes to social media companies, she said their policies can change “on a whim.” She added, “We’re in the business of making sure that we’re always following the rules as best we can.”

Priorities says it follows existing guidelines on TikTok and Instagram for disclosing partnerships and directs creators to include “#PrioritiesPartner” on their video captions. All of the videos POLITICO reviewed that were posted by creators on TikTok and Instagram included the #PrioritiesPartner disclosure.

Ishan Mehra, the director for media and democracy at watchdog group Common Cause, said he was disappointed the FEC decided not to require paid influencer disclosures. He said regulations on paid social media political content should be the same as those for political television and print ads, which are required by the FEC to include disclaimers.

“The ability to pay influencers to carry their message on behalf of a campaign is a loophole,” he said.

In the political landscape of 2024, Mike Nellis, a Democratic digital strategist who was a senior adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, said Democratic groups paying social media influencers is a smart way to reach voters who have lost trust in cable TV news and media, and are getting their news from social media.

“There’s a lack of trust in political leaders. There’s a lack of trust in the media. There’s a lack of trust in the parties. Where there is high trust is in individuals,” he said. Content creators have niche audiences that Democrats can tap into, “so we can reach them with a great deal of efficacy and trust this way,” he added.

Some Republicans worry about what happens if Democrats successfully discover the trick to reaching divergent voter groups online. Eric Wilson, a Republican digital campaign strategist, said that while he thinks influencers will play a large role in the 2024 election — for Democrats and to an extent Republicans as well — he stopped short of calling it an “influencer election.”

“But in December 2024, if we’re looking at a landslide for Democrats — it will be because they have cracked the code for reaching voters in a fragmented media and technology landscape,” Wilson said.

Meridith McGraw contributed to this report.

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Sutherland House Experts Book Publishing Launches To Empower Quiet Experts

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Sutherland House Experts is Empowering Quiet Experts through
Compelling Nonfiction in a Changing Ideas Landscape

TORONTO, ON — Almost one year after its launch, Sutherland House Experts is reshaping the publishing industry with its innovative co-publishing model for “quiet experts.” This approach, where expert authors share both costs and profits with the publisher, is bridging the gap between expertise and public discourse. Helping to drive this transformation is Neil Seeman, a renowned author, educator, and entrepreneur.

“The book publishing world is evolving rapidly,” publisher Neil Seeman explains. “There’s a growing hunger for expert voices in public dialogue, but traditional channels often fall short. Sutherland House Experts provides a platform for ‘quiet experts’ to share their knowledge with the broader book-reading audience.”

The company’s roster boasts respected thought leaders whose books are already gaining major traction:

• V. Kumar Murty, a world-renowned mathematician, and past Fields Institute director, just published “The Science of Human Possibilities” under the new press. The book has been declared a 2024 “must-read” by The Next Big Ideas Club and is receiving widespread media attention across North America.

• Eldon Sprickerhoff, co-founder of cybersecurity firm eSentire, is seeing strong pre-orders for his upcoming book, “Committed: Startup Survival Tips and Uncommon Sense for First-Time Tech Founders.”

• Dr. Tony Sanfilippo, a respected cardiologist and professor of medicine at Queen’s University, is generating significant media interest with his forthcoming book, “The Doctors We Need: Imagining a New Path for Physician Recruitment, Training, and Support.”

Seeman, whose recent and acclaimed book, “Accelerated Minds,” explores the entrepreneurial mindset, brings a unique perspective to publishing. His experience as a Senior Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and academic affiliations with The Fields Institute and Massey College, give him deep insight into the challenges faced by people he calls “quiet experts.”

“Our goal is to empower quiet, expert authors to become entrepreneurs of actionable ideas the world needs to hear,” Seeman states. “We are blending scholarly insight with market savvy to create accessible, impactful narratives for a global readership. Quiet experts are people with decades of experience in one or more fields who seek to translate their insights into compelling non-fiction for the world,” says Seeman.

This fall, Seeman is taking his insights to the classroom. He will teach the new course, “The Writer as Entrepreneur,” at the University of Toronto, offering aspiring authors practical tools to navigate the evolving book publishing landscape. To enroll in this new weekly night course starting Tuesday, October 1st, visit:
https://learn.utoronto.ca/programs-courses/courses/4121-writer-entrepreneur

“The entrepreneurial ideas industry is changing rapidly,” Seeman notes. “Authors need new skills to thrive in this dynamic environment. My course and our publishing model provide those tools.”

About Neil Seeman:
Neil Seeman is co-founder and publisher of Sutherland House Experts, an author, educator, entrepreneur, and mental health advocate. He holds appointments at the University of Toronto, The Fields Institute, and Massey College. His work spans entrepreneurship, public health, and innovative publishing models.

Follow Neil Seeman:
https://www.neilseeman.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/seeman/

Follow Sutherland House Experts:

https://sutherlandhouseexperts.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sutherlandhouseexperts/

Media Inquiries:
Sasha Stoltz | Sasha@sashastoltzpublicity.com | 416.579.4804
https://www.sashastoltzpublicity.com

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What to stream this weekend: ‘Civil War,’ Snow Patrol, ‘How to Die Alone,’ ‘Tulsa King’ and ‘Uglies’

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Hallmark launching a streaming service with two new original series, and Bill Skarsgård out for revenge in “Boy Kills World” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Alex Garland’s “Civil War” starring Kirsten Dunst, Natasha Rothwell’s heartfelt comedy for Hulu called “How to Die Alone” and Sylvester Stallone’s second season of “Tulsa King” debuts.

NEW MOVIES TO STREAM SEPT. 9-15

Alex Garland’s “Civil War” is finally making its debut on MAX on Friday. The film stars Kirsten Dunst as a veteran photojournalist covering a violent war that’s divided America; She reluctantly allows an aspiring photographer, played by Cailee Spaeny, to tag along as she, an editor (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and a reporter (Wagner Moura) make the dangerous journey to Washington, D.C., to interview the president (Nick Offerman), a blustery, rising despot who has given himself a third term, taken to attacking his citizens and shut himself off from the press. In my review, I called it a bellowing and haunting experience; Smart and thought-provoking with great performances. It’s well worth a watch.

— Joey King stars in Netflix’s adaptation of Scott Westerfeld’s “Uglies,” about a future society in which everyone is required to have beautifying cosmetic surgery at age 16. Streaming on Friday, McG directed the film, in which King’s character inadvertently finds herself in the midst of an uprising against the status quo. “Outer Banks” star Chase Stokes plays King’s best friend.

— Bill Skarsgård is out for revenge against the woman (Famke Janssen) who killed his family in “Boy Kills World,” coming to Hulu on Friday. Moritz Mohr directed the ultra-violent film, of which Variety critic Owen Gleiberman wrote: “It’s a depraved vision, yet I got caught up in its kick-ass revenge-horror pizzazz, its disreputable commitment to what it was doing.”

AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

NEW MUSIC TO STREAM SEPT. 9-15

— The year was 2006. Snow Patrol, the Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band, released an album, “Eyes Open,” producing the biggest hit of their career: “Chasing Cars.” A lot has happened in the time since — three, soon to be four quality full-length albums, to be exact. On Friday, the band will release “The Forest Is the Path,” their first new album in seven years. Anthemic pop-rock is the name of the game across songs of love and loss, like “All,”“The Beginning” and “This Is the Sound Of Your Voice.”

— For fans of raucous guitar music, Jordan Peele’s 2022 sci-fi thriller, “NOPE,” provided a surprising, if tiny, thrill. One of the leads, Emerald “Em” Haywood portrayed by Keke Palmer, rocks a Jesus Lizard shirt. (Also featured through the film: Rage Against the Machine, Wipers, Mr Bungle, Butthole Surfers and Earth band shirts.) The Austin noise rock band are a less than obvious pick, having been signed to the legendary Touch and Go Records and having stopped releasing new albums in 1998. That changes on Friday the 13th, when “Rack” arrives. And for those curious: The Jesus Lizard’s intensity never went away.

AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

NEW SHOWS TO STREAM SEPT. 9-15

— Hallmark launched a streaming service called Hallmark+ on Tuesday with two new original series, the scripted drama “The Chicken Sisters” and unscripted series “Celebrations with Lacey Chabert.” If you’re a Hallmark holiday movies fan, you know Chabert. She’s starred in more than 30 of their films and many are holiday themed. Off camera, Chabert has a passion for throwing parties and entertaining. In “Celebrations,” deserving people are surprised with a bash in their honor — planned with Chabert’s help. “The Chicken Sisters” stars Schuyler Fisk, Wendie Malick and Lea Thompson in a show about employees at rival chicken restaurants in a small town. The eight-episode series is based on a novel of the same name.

Natasha Rothwell of “Insecure” and “The White Lotus” fame created and stars in a new heartfelt comedy for Hulu called “How to Die Alone.” She plays Mel, a broke, go-along-to-get-along, single, airport employee who, after a near-death experience, makes the conscious decision to take risks and pursue her dreams. Rothwell has been working on the series for the past eight years and described it to The AP as “the most vulnerable piece of art I’ve ever put into the world.” Like Mel, Rothwell had to learn to bet on herself to make the show she wanted to make. “In the Venn diagram of me and Mel, there’s significant overlap,” said Rothwell. It premieres Friday on Hulu.

— Shailene Woodley, DeWanda Wise and Betty Gilpin star in a new drama for Starz called “Three Women,” about entrepreneur Sloane, homemaker Lina and student Maggie who are each stepping into their power and making life-changing decisions. They’re interviewed by a writer named Gia (Woodley.) The series is based on a 2019 best-selling book of the same name by Lisa Taddeo. “Three Women” premieres Friday on Starz.

— Sylvester Stallone’s second season of “Tulsa King” debuts Sunday on Paramount+. Stallone plays Dwight Manfredi, a mafia boss who was recently released from prison after serving 25 years. He’s sent to Tulsa to set up a new crime syndicate. The series is created by Taylor Sheridan of “Yellowstone” fame.

Alicia Rancilio

NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

— One thing about the title of Focus Entertainment’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 — you know exactly what you’re in for. You are Demetrian Titus, a genetically enhanced brute sent into battle against the Tyranids, an insectoid species with an insatiable craving for human flesh. You have a rocket-powered suit of armor and an arsenal of ridiculous weapons like the “Chainsword,” the “Thunderhammer” and the “Melta Rifle,” so what could go wrong? Besides the squishy single-player mode, there are cooperative missions and six-vs.-six free-for-alls. You can suit up now on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC.

— Likewise, Wild Bastards isn’t exactly the kind of title that’s going to attract fans of, say, Animal Crossing. It’s another sci-fi shooter, but the protagonists are a gang of 13 varmints — aliens and androids included — who are on the run from the law. Each outlaw has a distinctive set of weapons and special powers: Sarge, for example, is a robot with horse genes, while Billy the Squid is … well, you get the idea. Australian studio Blue Manchu developed the 2019 cult hit Void Bastards, and this Wild-West-in-space spinoff has the same snarky humor and vibrant, neon-drenched cartoon look. Saddle up on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Nintendo Switch or PC.

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Trump could cash out his DJT stock within weeks. Here’s what happens if he sells

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Former President Donald Trump is on the brink of a significant financial decision that could have far-reaching implications for both his personal wealth and the future of his fledgling social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). As the lockup period on his shares in TMTG, which owns Truth Social, nears its end, Trump could soon be free to sell his substantial stake in the company. However, the potential payday, which makes up a large portion of his net worth, comes with considerable risks for Trump and his supporters.

Trump’s stake in TMTG comprises nearly 59% of the company, amounting to 114,750,000 shares. As of now, this holding is valued at approximately $2.6 billion. These shares are currently under a lockup agreement, a common feature of initial public offerings (IPOs), designed to prevent company insiders from immediately selling their shares and potentially destabilizing the stock. The lockup, which began after TMTG’s merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), is set to expire on September 25, though it could end earlier if certain conditions are met.

Should Trump decide to sell his shares after the lockup expires, the market could respond in unpredictable ways. The sale of a substantial number of shares by a major stakeholder like Trump could flood the market, potentially driving down the stock price. Daniel Bradley, a finance professor at the University of South Florida, suggests that the market might react negatively to such a large sale, particularly if there aren’t enough buyers to absorb the supply. This could lead to a sharp decline in the stock’s value, impacting both Trump’s personal wealth and the company’s market standing.

Moreover, Trump’s involvement in Truth Social has been a key driver of investor interest. The platform, marketed as a free speech alternative to mainstream social media, has attracted a loyal user base largely due to Trump’s presence. If Trump were to sell his stake, it might signal a lack of confidence in the company, potentially shaking investor confidence and further depressing the stock price.

Trump’s decision is also influenced by his ongoing legal battles, which have already cost him over $100 million in legal fees. Selling his shares could provide a significant financial boost, helping him cover these mounting expenses. However, this move could also have political ramifications, especially as he continues his bid for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race.

Trump Media’s success is closely tied to Trump’s political fortunes. The company’s stock has shown volatility in response to developments in the presidential race, with Trump’s chances of winning having a direct impact on the stock’s value. If Trump sells his stake, it could be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his own political future, potentially undermining both his campaign and the company’s prospects.

Truth Social, the flagship product of TMTG, has faced challenges in generating traffic and advertising revenue, especially compared to established social media giants like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Despite this, the company’s valuation has remained high, fueled by investor speculation on Trump’s political future. If Trump remains in the race and manages to secure the presidency, the value of his shares could increase. Conversely, any missteps on the campaign trail could have the opposite effect, further destabilizing the stock.

As the lockup period comes to an end, Trump faces a critical decision that could shape the future of both his personal finances and Truth Social. Whether he chooses to hold onto his shares or cash out, the outcome will likely have significant consequences for the company, its investors, and Trump’s political aspirations.

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