Paid influencers are taking over US politics. Politicians are hiring creators to promote their campaigns, causes and candidates, and the public often has no idea whether those posts are sponsored. A new column argues that transparency is the only way to stop this from becoming a problem.
The column, Paid Influencers Are Everywhere in US Politics. We Need Transparency, comes from Martin J Riedl and Samuel Woolley. They describe the practice as a new form of political astroturfing and computational propaganda. Their argument is simple: when influencers post about politics without disclosing they are being paid, voters lose trust in the information ecosystem.
The Case Study: Pete Hegseth’s Warrior Ethos
The Pentagon is already testing this territory. A Pentagon spokesperson did not respond to the Washington Post’s question about whether influencers assigned to promote Pete Hegseth’s “warrior ethos” received a salary.
The column does not draw a conclusion from that silence. It simply reports that the question went unanswered.
Mayors and Governors Who Use Creators
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani uses a network of friendly (unpaid) influencers to communicate with gen Z. That is one model. Another is Tom Steyer, who hired creators to promote his failed run for governor of California. Some of those creators did not disclose that they got paid.
Then there is former secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem. She toured an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon last year with three conservative influencers. Whether they were paid is unclear.
These examples show how widespread the practice is. It crosses party lines and levels of government. The common thread is opacity: the public is rarely told when a political post is sponsored.
What Federal Law Says — Or Doesn’t Say
The federal regulatory environment in the United States does not require influencers to disclose when promoting politics for payment. There is no national standard forcing creators to label sponsored content.
Some states have laws mandating transparency from paid political influencers, but they typically apply only to local elections. That leaves a gap. A voter in a presidential race might see a sponsored post from an influencer who never had to disclose anywhere.
Research From Tennessee
Research from the University of Tennessee’s Information Integrity Institute found that heavy social media users who consume more content from political influencers care less about disclosure. That is a warning sign. The more people see political posts from creators, the less they seem to care whether those posts are honest.
Survey data shows people who value creator authenticity also support paid political influencer disclosure requirements. There is a tension there. Authenticity matters to voters, but the system rewards the opposite: opaque, unmarked posts that look like personal opinions.
The Authors’ Framework
Riedl and Woolley propose an ethical framework calling for authentic, autonomous and transparent influencer conduct when promoting a candidate, cause or campaign. The key word is “transparent.”
They warn that covert paid influencer activity degrades an already struggling information ecosystem. In other words, hiding the money behind political posts makes a bad situation worse.
Why Disclosure Matters
The stakes are not abstract. A healthy information ecosystem depends on trust. When voters cannot tell which posts are sponsored, they lose faith in the whole system. That is the slippery slope the column warns about.
The column’s position is straightforward. Influencers should disclose when they are being paid to promote politics. The federal government should require it. State laws that cover local races are a start, but they are not enough.
What Comes Next
The column does not offer a policy prescription beyond the ethical framework. It identifies the problem and flags the research. The research shows that disclosure is unpopular with heavy social media users, but it is popular with people who care about authenticity.
The column’s authors want transparency to become the norm. They want influencers to disclose when they are being paid, not hide it. They want voters to know who is paying for the message.
The Pentagon’s silence on Hegseth’s influencers shows how far the country still has to go. Until there is a national requirement, the practice will likely continue. Influencers will keep posting. Voters will keep reading. And the information ecosystem will keep facing pressure.
The column is a call to action. It asks politicians, influencers and regulators to take transparency seriously. It asks voters to demand it. The information ecosystem is fragile. Every undisclosed post chips away at it.
The column’s authors have made their case. Now they wait to see if anyone answers.
Key facts:
– Pentagon spokesperson did not answer the Washington Post’s question about influencer salaries for Pete Hegseth’s “warrior ethos”
– Tom Steyer hired creators for his failed run for governor of California; some did not disclose payments
– Kristi Noem toured an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon with three conservative influencers; payment status unclear
– University of Tennessee research: heavy social media users care less about disclosure when consuming political influencer content
Where the paper stands
The paper backs narrow rules aimed at disclosure and transparency so voters know which posts are paid promotion, and is against broad new rulebooks that could hand the market to the biggest platforms. The column’s core demand is simple: influencers should disclose when they are being paid to promote politics. The federal government should require it.
The column identifies a real problem — opaque posts that look like personal opinions but carry hidden money — and proposes a light touch solution rather than a heavy-handed one. The paper agrees with that framing.
The column’s argument tracks the paper’s own position on regulation: narrow rules aimed at the harm, not a moat around the market. It wants disclosure, not licensing regimes that only the biggest platforms can afford. The Pentagon’s unanswered question about Hegseth’s influencers shows how far the country still has to go.
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