Dark money is quietly shaping the internet
+ Monchhichi mania, the US Open's influencer problem, protein foam, Luigi for Shein, Wondermind's implosion, Beast phone, the Reese Witherspoon tech bubble indicator, & how Trump lost the podcast bros
Dark money orgs spend millions to shape our political system without having to reveal where their money comes from. Now, they're paying influencers too.
Last week, I published an article on WIRED titled "A Dark Money Group Is Secretly Funding High-Profile Democratic Influencers." The story describes an initiative aimed at boosting Democrats online that offers influencers up to $8,000 a month in dark money funding.
Since the story came out, a bunch of influencers in the program have tried to mislead people about what dark money is and isn't. Anna Massoglia is one of the top journalists in the country covering dark money. She is the director of investigations at the Sunlight Research Center and writes the newsletter Influence Brief.
She joined my podcast this week to break down the dark money landscape, who the biggest dark money power players are, and why even left-leaning undisclosed dark money can harm our political system. We also chat about how dark money is increasingly shaping content on the internet and being used for foreign propaganda campaigns.
What I’m reading
How the Democrats keep copying the MAGA influencer playbook (and failing)
As the fallout of the Chorus influencer program reveals, the Democratic establishment seems sclerotically incapable of existing in a media environment it cannot control. - The Verge