Content creators are sounding the alarm after a marketing agency began offering to pay cash to influencers for promoting Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee.
The company, known as “Launchviral,” has reportedly been offering influencers $150 in cash to post memes in support of Harris, tag her, then encourage fans to like, share and follow Harris’ social media accounts.
Multiple social media influencers have posted about this offer on X, including comedian Steve McGrew, who shared an email with a headline that read: “Steve, Paid Post Opportunity – Kamala Harris Presidential Campaign 2024.”
“They trying to get ME to be a paid shill for Kamala,” he wrote in the post.
They trying to get ME to be a paid shill for Kamala. GFYS! But let this be a lesson… they are PAYING people to pretend to support KumSwalla pic.twitter.com/kokPoAHvyK
— Steve Mudflap McGrew’s REMASCULATE podcast (@REMASCULATE) July 28, 2024
The email stated: “We’re excited to offer you a collaboration opportunity with the KAMALA HARRIS Presidential Campaign 2024. Please Note: LaunchViral is politically neutral. Our company focuses on connecting influencers with collaboration opportunities.”
The marketing agency went on to note that the opportunity offered “$150 cash paid bonus incentive as a small token of appreciation for those selected.”
However, the marketing agency’s page has since been deleted, as the link now only shows a 404-error page. Fortunately, the page has been archived, which shows a form to sign up for the paid collaboration opportunity.
Conservative comedian Terrence Williams also shared a screen recording of the page in a video posted to X, where he mocked the offer, arguing that Harris “is so unlikeable [that] they are paying people to like her.”
🚨 They are paying people to support Kamala Harris! You can make $150 Dollars in cash to support her.
How much money would it take for you to support Kamala Harris ? pic.twitter.com/evFS5QBEel
— Terrence K. Williams (@w_terrence) July 29, 2024
The Daily Caller reportedly spoke with several content creators about the paid collaboration, with Gen Z conservative commentator Chrissy Clark explaining that the Democrat National Committee (DNC) has an “influencer dark network” that they use to make videos go viral. Clark went on to explain that these posts attempt to rebrand Harris as “cool and approachable” to make her go viral — calling it “dystopian.”
The outlet also spoke with social media influencer Savannah Fuhr, who stated that Harris “hasn’t done a good job of representing the people” and argued that the only reason young Americans interact with pro-Harris content is because she “is easy to make fun of.”
