California FPPC Complaint Targets Tom Steyer Campaign Over Undisclosed Paid Influencer Posts

A complaint filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission alleges that Tom Steyer’s gubernatorial campaign violated California campaign transparency laws by failing to properly disclose paid political influencer content on social media platforms.

“LOS ANGELES — A complaint filed Thursday with the California Fair Political Practices Commission alleges that Tom Steyer’s gubernatorial campaign violated California campaign transparency laws by failing to properly disclose paid political influencer content on social media platforms”

Davis Vanguard

The complaint was filed by attorney Nick Rowley on behalf of social media creator Margaret “Maggie” Reed, who said Steyer’s campaign “engaged her to create and publish social media content concerning Tom Steyer on TikTok, Instagram, and X without informing her that California law required the posts to disclose that they were paid political communications.”

Davis Vanguard

Reed’s contract, included in the filing, shows a $5,000 fee for the engagement, but the campaign billed the $5,000 fee as “Palette Media” for “Digital Advertising” expenses on a Form 460.

The filing also alleges the campaign misreported the payment by coding it as “TEL” rather than “WEB” and failed to disclose details required by FPPC Regulation 18421.5, including the creator account and the platforms where the paid content was published.

The Vanguard reported that the complaint points to Steyer’s campaign spending “more than $123,000 on influencer activity during the 2026 gubernatorial race,” while also emphasizing the campaign’s use of “over $130 million of his own money on the campaign.”

Carlos Eduardo Espina, a Uruguay-born, U.S.-raised influencer, posted an announcement that he had been hired by California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer, and EL PAÍS says he monetized his endorsement for $400,000.

EL PAÍS reports that Espina’s rise included posting videos in Spanish on TikTok during the Covid pandemic and later praising Steyer’s proposals, with his content including selfies and reggaeton music in Los Angeles and San Diego.

EL PAÍS English

The outlet says Espina expected to be paid a total of $400,000 and quoted him explaining: “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.”

EL PAÍS also describes how California influencers Beatrice Gomberg and Kaitlyn Hennessy said they were not surprised Espina joined Steyer’s campaign after they spent weeks poring over expenditure records and found dozens of influencers were on his payroll.

In the same coverage, Hennessy said Espina was “the tip of Tom Steyer’s attempt to change the social media landscape,” and she added that he hired minorities, mostly women outside California, paying “$10 per video — below the state minimum wage.”

As the California controversy unfolded, the Los Angeles Times described how some call for tighter regulations on payments, noting that California is one of the few places that requires disclosure of sponsored social media posts.

“As influencers rise in politics, some call for tighter regulations on payments - Click here to listen to this article - - Roughly 1 in 5 Americans said they regularly got news from social media influencers in 2024, according to the Pew Research Center”

Los Angeles Times

The article quotes Saurav Ghosh, a former enforcement attorney at the Federal Election Commission, saying, “The problem is that it doesn’t look like an ad,” and adds that it “ends up really getting people at a place where they’re not skeptical and not able to tell the difference between what’s voluntary and where the influencer is acting as a paid spokesperson.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that the Campaign Legal Center filed a petition asking the FEC to require disclaimers on paid content created by influencers, while also stating that the penalties for violating California’s 2023 disclosure law are not especially harsh.

Under the law described by the Los Angeles Times, violation carries no civil, criminal or administrative penalties, and the FPPC can take alleged violators to court and ask a judge to force compliance.

The Los Angeles Times further said violations can be penalized with a fine of up to $5,000 per instance, and it noted that the commission has yet to weigh in on the various accusations in the Steyer race.