A new WIRED investigation has pulled back the curtain on something conservatives have long suspected: Democrats are quietly bankrolling an army of online influencers, paying them thousands of dollars a month to push progressive talking points under the radar.
At the center of the operation is Chorus, a nonprofit offshoot of the influencer marketing platform Good Influence. The funding? It flows straight from the Sixteen Thirty Fund — one of the largest and most secretive “dark money” groups in Democratic politics, managed by Arabella Advisors, the same consulting empire that has funneled billions into left-wing causes for years.
Here’s how it works. In June, dozens of Democratic-leaning influencers — with a combined reach of at least 13 million followers — were contacted about joining the Chorus Creator Incubator Program. The pitch: expand your “reach and impact.” The payout: up to $8,000 per month.
Contracts reviewed by WIRED show that influencers were barred from disclosing their financial arrangement with Chorus or the Sixteen Thirty Fund. They couldn’t admit they were being paid. They were also required to notify Chorus about any independent meetings with government officials or political leaders — a stipulation that sounds more like an intelligence operation than grassroots activism.
One lawyer, speaking to recruits on Zoom, made the political utility of the structure plain:
“It gives us the ability to raise money from donors. It also, with this structure, it avoids a lot of the public disclosure or public disclaimers — you know, ‘Paid for by blah blah blah blah’ — that you see on political ads. We don’t need to deal with any of that.”
In other words, donors stay hidden. Influencers appear organic. The public is kept in the dark.
Among those tied to Chorus are Olivia Julianna, a Gen Z activist who spoke at the 2024 DNC; Loren Piretra of Occupy Democrats fame; “Regina George liberal” Suzanne Lambert; and Sander Jennings, brother of transgender activist Jazz Jennings.
For the Sixteen Thirty Fund, it’s just another extension of a long-running playbook. The group has poured millions into left-wing PACs, advocacy groups, and campaign-aligned projects — all while shielding its biggest donors. Four anonymous givers accounted for nearly two-thirds of the Fund’s 2023 revenue, according to tax records.
Chorus and Sixteen Thirty Fund deny that influencers are prohibited from discussing the program, but they notably have not disputed the contracts WIRED reviewed. Their defense boils down to: we’re doing pro-democracy work. Translation: what we do is noble, so transparency doesn’t matter.
