CHARLOTTE, N.C. — We have seen several celebrities come out and endorse either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential race. But there are more growing trends on social media. In fact, some influencers claim they are getting asked to endorse candidates for big bucks.
So are there rules against paying influencers to show support for a candidate?
YouTube star Tana Mongeau has 8.4 million followers on TikTok and has a podcast called "Cancelled". In a recent episode, she claims she was offered money to endorse a candidate.
"I hypothetically was just offered a lot of money to endorse a political party. Like millions and then I was allegedly told an alleged list of other influencers that have already hypothetically accepted money to those hypothetically things." Mongeau said.
So what are the rules when it comes to campaigns and influencers?
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Scott Huffmon, a political science professor at Winthrop University, said the mix of politics with influencers is still very new.
“It's kind of a wild west out there,” Huffmon said.
The Federal Election Commission, which oversees campaign finance law, currently doesn’t have clear disclosure rules for influencers as it does for traditional advertising. In 2023 the FEC wrote about the issue saying campaigns only have to disclose payment to firms booking the influencers, but they don’t have to disclose about the influencers being paid by them.
Huffmon said most of the influencers are getting paid from political action committees, not a candidate’s campaign itself.
“For the most part, the Federal Election Commission is just not enforcing them," he said. "Again, it’s unclear how enforcement would work and most of the enforcement is about products, so the question is: is the candidate a product and influencer if they are talking about issues? They don't have to say 'this message was paid for by' like a television ad that -- may be coming down the road."
TikTok currently bans political ads from paid influencers. However, a statement from TikTok said undisclosed political advertising from influencers continues to be an issue.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.