Revolver highlights an interesting piece of real journalism from one a leading legacy media outlet.
Social media was supposed to be the place where average Joe’s finally got around all the gatekeepers. Boy, did that not work out how we hoped.
Ideally, we all wanted a place to go without the polished campaign commercial and no consultant-approved television ads. We just wanted somebody sitting in their car, kitchen, or bedroom telling followers what they really thought.
Authenticity was the name of the game, and the reason all the average Joe’s trust influencers is because they don’t look like campaign operatives. They look like regular people sharing an opinion.
Except apparently, most of those “opinions” – especially leftwing ones – come with an invoice.
The New York Times just published a massive investigative report exposing left-wing political influencers who’ve been secretly paid to promote candidates without telling their followers that money changed hands.
And when NYT started digging through campaign filings, middlemen, TikTok accounts, and dark-money ops, things got downright embarrassing for the Dems.
That’s because the deepest and most legit examples in the articles revolve around Democrats and progressive influencers. No surprise there, right?
Of course, NYT couldn’t get very far without stopping to assure everybody that this is all very “bipartisan.”
Nice try, guys.
Because once that flimsy little disclaimer is out of their way, the reporting tells a very interesting story. …
… Then NYT immediately shifts over to what its article is really about: Dem candidates aggressively paying well-known influencers for political support. …
… Enter Josh Greene, also known online as @joshtheprogressive.
Greene has hundreds of thousands of followers and access to major left-wing politicians. He also has a very interesting history with former California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer.
In February, Greene wasn’t exactly impressed with Mr. Steyer.
A few months and $21,500 later, his opinion drastically changed. …
… A candidate goes from not being much of a “progressive champion” to becoming the “most progressive hero candidate in the race” right around the time a $21,500 payment shows up.
Nothing to see here, folks.
