The internet is filled with influencers, and most people do not understand how influencers work. A lot of people think that influencers share their lives and opinions, and monetize social media to make money. However, there is an underlying goal to further make money through affiliate links, sponsorships, and product placement. None of this is wrong, but it’s something to look out for. For transparency, we use affiliate links at times. But it is a different ball game, ethically, when people are paid to shill positions they don’t have or advertise movies they’ve never seen.
I’ve seen this activity before. Sound of Freedom became a box office juggernaut that gave Angel Studios delusions of valuation grandeur because they successfully used influencer advertising. Steve Deace admitted that this was the best marketing money spent on his movie Nefarious. I’ve seen woke pro-Zionist campaigns where seemingly all these influencers got the call at once. But this soda campaign was so obvious, it got caught.
Nick Sortor published a thread exposing influencers in a coordinated campaign by a company called Influenceable to lobby against the Trump Administration’s attempt to Make America Healthy Again by curbing soda from food stamps.
Even low level influencers like Jenna Ellis got in on the action:
Efforts to restrict SNAP purchases takes away the autonomy of the consumer to make their own decisions. This is another example of government overreach, but also an example why people should strive to not be dependent on government at all.
Here I was thinking she opposed Christian Nationalism to be an urbanite libertarian, but she’s more so desperate for money since she destroyed her reputation by taking a plea deal to screw over Trump which backfired as the charges against Trump in Georgia fell apart after she pled guilty.
Last week, we discussed Chad Prather’s laughable YouTube views. Unable to make it in Conservative Inc., he peddled the line as well. The Wild West of social media means someone doesn’t need Conservative Inc. to make money. Granted, they can do both Blaze TV and Influenceable, and I’m sure a lot do.
Simply put, arguing that people taking government money to buy food should be allowed to buy the least healthy food is bad for the health of the country as well as the state of Medicaid. Libertarian arguments do not apply at all on government handouts which is why this influence campaign falls flat.
Influencers are on the hook, and many of the worst ones, like the Elon Musk fellating Ian Miles Cheong who tweeted all the way from Malaysia to weigh in on American welfare policy.
Grifters are going to grift so beware.
