A group linked to the Democratic Party is reportedly paying progressive social media influencers up to $8,000 a month to promote Democratic policy ideas online. According to a report from WIRED magazine and cited by the New York Post, the initiative is run through the “Chorus Creator Incubator Program,” which receives funding from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a nonprofit organization that has supported numerous Democratic-aligned projects.
The program has enlisted several well-known liberal figures in digital media. Among them are Olivia Julianna, a Gen Z activist who spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention; Loren Piretra, previously with Playboy and now an Occupy Democrats YouTuber; Barrett Adair, known for running an American Girl Doll–themed meme account; Suzanne Lambert, who describes herself as a “Regina George liberal”; Arielle Fodor, a teacher with a large following on TikTok; Sander Jennings, a TLC reality star and brother of trans influencer Jazz Jennings; and David Pakman, host of a political commentary show on YouTube.
Graham Wilson, an attorney working with Chorus, discussed the benefits of operating under a nonprofit structure during a Zoom call with creators. As reported by WIRED: “There are some real great advantages to … housing this program in a nonprofit,” Graham Wilson said. “It gives us the ability to raise money from donors. It also, with this structure, it avoids a lot of the public disclosure or public disclaimers—you know, ‘Paid for by blah blah blah blah’—that you see on political ads. We don’t need to deal with any of that. Your names aren’t showing up on, like, reports filed with the FEC.” (Wilson did not reply to a request for comment.)
Some commentators have questioned whether these payments affect influencers’ authenticity or if such spending reflects how organizations might handle other funds.
For more details about this arrangement and its implications for political messaging online, readers can consult additional coverage at https://nypost.com/2025/08/28/us-news/dark-money-group-paying-pro-dem-influencers-up-to-8k-a-month-report/.
