WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0In the latest escalation of a fight over the use of paid social media creators, Tom Steyer\u2019s campaign for governor filed a complaint Tuesday accusing influencers who posted content supportive of Xavier Becerra\u2019s campaign of failing to disclose that they had been paid, which is required by California law.<\/p>\n
One of the two influencers accused, however, said she had not been paid by the Becerra campaign to create posts supporting his candidacy.<\/p>\n
The complaint, filed with California\u2019s Fair Political Practices Commission, accuses Jay Gonzalez of producing at least 14 pro-Becerra posts on Instagram and Facebook in late April and early May, after he was hired by the campaign, and only belatedly editing the posts to acknowledge they had been sponsored by the campaign.<\/p>\n
The complaint also said that a social media creator named Maggie Reed, who posts under the username mermaidmamamaggie, created four pro-Becerra posts on Instagram and had previously offered to create paid posts for another gubernatorial campaign.<\/p>\n
The complaint alleges that Becerra\u2019s campaign failed to disclose payments to both influencers in its campaign filings.<\/p>\n
But Reed said she had not been paid by the Becerra campaign for her posts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have never accepted, nor have I been offered, money from Xavier Becerra\u2019s campaign. I endorsed Becerra because of his policies and proven track record,\u201d Reed said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The Becerra campaign maintained that it has not paid influencers who have created posts in support of the campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of the content you see online is entirely and purely organic,\u201d said Becerra spokesman Jonathan Underland.<\/p>\n
Becerra and Steyer have been the top two Democratic candidates in recent polling for the governor\u2019s race<\/a>, with Becerra consistently maintaining a slight edge in those polls.<\/p>\n