Laura Loomer Accused Of Undisclosed Payments For Political Posts On X

Paid Tweets Allegations

Laura Loomer, described as a prominent ally of US President Donald Trump, faced allegations that private clients paid her for political posts on social media without publicly disclosing the payments. The Washington Post report cited by Anadolu Ajansı said financial documents reviewed by the newspaper appear to show four payments totaling more than $60,000 sent to Loomer and her Florida-based company, King Breaker Media, since May last year. Anadolu Ajansı also said two sources told the newspaper they had paid Loomer directly to publish political messages on her account on US social media platform X, which has 1.9 million followers.

Alex Bruesewitz acknowledged paying Loomer through his political consulting firm, X Strategies, for posts related to policy issues, and he said the practice had gone too far and called for clearer disclosure rules. Loomer rejected the claims that she was paid to post tweets, saying her work involved journalism, public affairs and opposition research, and she maintained that Bruesewitz had paid her to prepare a research document that she subsequently distributed.

Reporting for this sectionAnadolu Ajansı

Hiatus After Online Feud

Alex Bruesewitz and Laura Loomer escalated their dispute online, with Bruesewitz writing, "Believe it or not attacking Democrats over their relationships with a streamer (Hasan Piker) wasn't an effective hit."

Loomer responded by asking, "But they should take their advice and meetings with @TuckerCarlson instead?" and she added that Tucker Carlson had endorsed Abdul El-Sayed over Mike Rogers.

Bruesewitz then wrote, "No I don't deny that. I've paid you for tweets before. I haven't for at least a year though," and he said he still considered it fair to refer to her as an "influencer."

Hours later, Loomer announced her podcast was going on a "hiatus," saying, "I've been running on empty for too long. Family, my personal life, my upcoming wedding, a healthy work life balance and just the act of having a life outside of my show and my work have all been on hold."

Reporting for this sectionMediaite

Disclosure Questions and Fallout

The Washington Post account described Loomer as being paid by private clients to make political posts on social media without publicly disclosing the payments, and it framed the arrangement as a business practice tied to Trump administration influence online. Anadolu Ajansı reported that two people familiar with the arrangements told the newspaper Loomer sometimes charged between $3,000 and $5,000 per post, while Loomer denied having fixed rates. The New Republic said Loomer announced a "brief hiatus" from her Loomer Unleashed podcast just hours after Bruesewitz took aim at conservative social media influencers following the GOP's massive midterm election loss.

The New Republic also said Loomer accused Bruesewitz of having ties to the Qatari government, and it described the exchange as reinforcing concerns that social media content is privately paid for and manufactured with a particular political bias. Anadolu Ajansı added that Trump acknowledged listening to some of Loomer's recommendations, even as Loomer rejected the underlying claims about being paid to post tweets.

Reporting for this sectionThe Washington PostAnadolu Ajansı