Influencers who monetize their political support: The controversy in the California governor’s race

Carlos Eduardo Espina’s rise began during the Covid pandemic, when he started posting videos in Spanish on TikTok that explained immigration and political issues in a casual style aimed at Hispanics in the United States. He eventually amassed millions of followers across different digital platforms, and soon attracted the attention of politicians eager to reach his audience.

In recent months, he has posted videos praising the proposals of California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer, and others where he is seen with Steyer at campaign events — amid selfies, greetings to supporters and reggaeton music — in Los Angeles and San Diego. Finally, the Uruguay-born, U.S.-raised influencer posted a video with an announcement that evidenced Steyer’s new prominence in his content: “I have a new job… I have been hired by Mr. Tom Steyer.” For $400,000, he had monetized his endorsement of the multimillionaire candidate for California governor.

This case fuels the growing controversy over the use of influencers in political campaigns that aim to give young voters the impression that these endorsements are “organic” and reflect personal convictions, without transparently disclosing that there is financial compensation behind them. It is a relatively new trend, and legislation is lagging behind. It was not until 2024 that laws took effect in California and Texas requiring content creators to disclose whether their posts were funded by a candidate or campaign. At the federal level, by contrast, agencies such as the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) still operate under older regulatory frameworks that do not apply well to social media or political advertising.

A story in The New York Times scrutinized an initial payment of $100,000 that Steyer gave the influencer. Later, Espina himself revealed that he expected to be paid a total of $400,000, a figure confirmed to this outlet by the candidate’s campaign managers. “Not everything has been paid yet, but I am saying it transparently so later they don’t come to me saying: oh, this and that,” Espina said.

California influencers Beatrice Gomberg and Kaitlyn Hennessy were not surprised that Carlos Eduardo Espina ended up joining Steyer’s campaign. They had spent several weeks poring over the Democrat’s expenditure records and had found that dozens of influencers were on his payroll. Some were paid as little as $10 per video, others received $1,000 payments, and some were issued checks for $10,000. Espina, however, stood out with a six-figure salary.

“Carlos Espina is the tip of Tom Steyer’s attempt to change the social media landscape,” Hennessy said in a phone interview with EL PAÍS. “He has hired minorities, mostly women who live outside California, paying them $10 per video — below the state minimum wage — basically exploiting them so they produce content that makes Latinos and Black voters like him and vote for him,” she added.

The findings, compiled in a 24-page report, are now part of a broader investigation opened a few days ago by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), the California government agency responsible for overseeing electoral ethics. The complaint alleges that many of those videos, including Espina’s, violated state law by failing to clearly identify that the content was paid for by Steyer’s campaign.

This controversy is unfolding as candidates refine their strategies ahead of the California primary election for governor on June 2. After losing momentum and falling to third place in the most recent polls, Steyer is trying to close the gap and wrest the lead from Xavier Becerra, a former congressman and former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services during the Biden administration. Under California’s election system, only the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the November election.

The Espina case

Carlos Eduardo Espina was not chosen at random by Tom Steyer’s team: the 27-year-old has about 23 million followers on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. The Pew Research Center considers him one of the country’s most popular news influencers, alongside Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan. He has become known for speaking on camera about high-interest topics such as immigration, civil rights, politics and elections.

His growth was rapid. One of his first viral videos was published five years ago, when he was still a university student, explaining step by step how to obtain U.S. citizenship. Since then, his mix of activism, outreach and accessible language has led him to be described as a kind of “one-person Telemundo,” but on social media.

His decision to endorse Steyer raised questions within his own audience, especially given the presence of two Hispanic candidates. On social media he faced criticism and slurs. He was branded “sellout” and “chayotero” (someone who is opportunistic). In his first video on the subject, Espina explained that he met the candidate through a Democratic congressman and agreed to be his “political adviser” on matters related to the Hispanic community. The initial $100,000 payment became known only later, after being revealed by a Times report. According to campaign expenditure records, the money was routed through a company linked to the influencer under the concept of “strategic advising and campaign representation.”

Far from avoiding the controversy, Espina has tried to capitalize on it in his own way. In one video, he claimed he was being attacked by “shitty people” who did not appreciate the “more than $3 million” in donations he allegedly made to help various people. In another post, he said, ironically, that he had “learned his lesson” and so in the next election campaign, “I’m going to ask for more” money. He then let out a laugh that sounded rehearsed. “What’s wrong with getting paid to advise someone I believe is a great person and could be a great governor?” he said in another response. “I say he’s awesome, he’s the real deal, he’s amazing.”

In a statement for this article, Kevin Liao, a spokesperson for Steyer’s campaign, rejected the claim that the payment was not transparent, noting that it was duly reported in the candidate’s expenditures. “Carlos is an invaluable part of our team in his capacity as a strategic adviser for Latino mobilization,” he said. “Few people match his connection with the Latino community, and Tom is proud to have him on the team.” Liao explained that because Espina was not hired as a content creator, any of his posts about the race “are on his own initiative” and should not be classified as paid political advertising.

Activist Patty Chávez says the case leaves a lesson for voters: the need to independently verify the information they consume on social media. “There’s a big difference between supporting a candidate because they align with your ideals and values and doing it because you’re being paid,” she says.

The influencers who are paid $10

At the time this report was published, a website for hiring influencers operated by Steyer’s campaign was still active. The offer called for producing between one and three daily videos for TikTok and Instagram during May and June in exchange for a fixed monthly fee of $1,000. That was supplemented by tiered incentives based on content reach: an additional $75 for surpassing 100,000 views; $125 if it reached 250,000; $300 at 500,000; $500 for exceeding one million; and up to $1,000 more if the video surpassed five million views.

The site includes three “example” videos in which supposed spontaneous users expressed support for the multimillionaire and criticized his main Democratic rival, Xavier Becerra. The offer stated the obligation to disclose that the content was sponsored. However, it is not clear whether Steyer’s team effectively monitors compliance with that requirement.

Before the Espina case, the campaign had already faced controversy over a video posted in March by influencer Isaiah “Zay Dante” Washington, who has 1.8 million followers on TikTok. In the piece — an interview with Steyer — it was not specified that the creator had received $10,000 for his participation. The video was later removed, though the payment appears in the campaign’s financial records. The incident is also under review by the Fair Political Practices Commission.

Another content creator who accepted payment from Steyer is Jason Chu, who has about 135,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok. In a video released in February, he analyzed the Democrat’s trajectory, from his fortune built on investments in private prisons, the tobacco industry and fossil fuels, to his transformation — as he put it — into a progressive committed to the environment and social causes. “Are billionaires evil?” Chu asks in the post. At that time, according to The Washington Post, Chu had not disclosed that he received $2,000 for “online communications” work through a contractor linked to the campaign.

According to the influencers who have investigated these practices, Beatrice Gomberg and Kaitlyn Hennessy, Steyer’s digital strategy is organized on four levels: first, recruiting high-reach influencers like Carlos Eduardo Espina; second, hiring creators with medium-sized audiences of up to 10,000 followers; third, paying around $10 per video to creators with smaller audiences who are economically vulnerable; and fourth, spreading memes and humorous clips across multiple accounts on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.

“It is very obviously paid advertising that has been distributed across more than one hundred accounts managed from outside the country. Yet in none of the videos is it mentioned that the content is sponsored,” Gomberg said referencing the last tactic, in an interview with EL PAÍS. “People should know if someone is working for Tom Steyer.”

Campaign spokesperson Kevin Liao declined to provide a list of influencers hired and insisted that creators’ support is genuine. “Our campaign has never paid for endorsements,” he said in the statement sent to this outlet. “Creators should be compensated for their time and work, like any other professional. We are transparent, unlike other campaigns.”

Others have a very different view. “I’m horrified by his ethical integrity,” Gomberg said.

*With additional reporting by Carla Gloria Colomé

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