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Podcast / The Time of Monsters / Sep 8, 2025

Dark Money Invades Social Media

On The Time of Monsters: Taylor Lorenz on the shadowy groups backing some big Democratic influencers.

The Nation Podcasts
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Dark Money Invades Social Media | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
byThe Nation Magazine

On August 27, journalist Taylor Lorenz reported for Wired on a dark-money project funded by

anonymous Democratic Party donors to shape social media. Her article documented that,

"In a private group chat in June, dozens of Democratic political influencers discussed whether to

take advantage of an enticing opportunity. They were being offered $8,000 per month to take

part in a secretive program aimed at bolstering Democratic messaging on the internet.

But the contract sent to them from Chorus, the nonprofit arm of a liberal influencer marketing

platform, came with some strings. Among other issues, it mandated extensive secrecy about

disclosing their payments and had restrictions on what sort of political content the creators

could produce."

I talked to Taylor about her article and the considerable backlash it provoked from the people

she wrote about. We also discussed why Republicans have done so well on social media and

why this latest effort is both morally dubious and ineffective.

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On August 27, journalist Taylor Lorenz reported for Wired on a dark-money project funded by anonymous Democratic Party donors to shape social media. As she wrote:

In a private group chat in June, dozens of Democratic political influencers discussed whether to take advantage of an enticing opportunity. They were being offered $8,000 per month to take part in a secretive program aimed at bolstering Democratic messaging on the internet. But the contract sent to them from Chorus, the nonprofit arm of a liberal influencer marketing platform, came with some strings. Among other issues, it mandated extensive secrecy about disclosing their payments and had restrictions on what sort of political content the creators could produce.

I talked to Taylor about her article and the considerable backlash it provoked from the people she wrote about. We also discussed why Republicans have done so well on social media and why this latest effort is both morally dubious and ineffective.

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer

The Time of Monsters podcast features Nation national-affairs correspondent Jeet Heer’s signature blend of political culture and cultural politics. Each week, he’ll host in-depth conversations with urgent voices on the most pressing issues of our time.

Dark Money Invades Social Media
byThe Nation Company LLC

On August 27, journalist Taylor Lorenz reported for Wired on a dark-money project funded by

anonymous Democratic Party donors to shape social media. Her article documented that,

"In a private group chat in June, dozens of Democratic political influencers discussed whether to

take advantage of an enticing opportunity. They were being offered $8,000 per month to take

part in a secretive program aimed at bolstering Democratic messaging on the internet.

But the contract sent to them from Chorus, the nonprofit arm of a liberal influencer marketing

platform, came with some strings. Among other issues, it mandated extensive secrecy about

disclosing their payments and had restrictions on what sort of political content the creators

could produce."

I talked to Taylor about her article and the considerable backlash it provoked from the people

she wrote about. We also discussed why Republicans have done so well on social media and

why this latest effort is both morally dubious and ineffective.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

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Jeet Heer

Jeet Heer is a national affairs correspondent for The Nation and host of the weekly Nation podcast, The Time of Monsters. He also pens the monthly column “Morbid Symptoms.” The author of In Love with Art: Francoise Mouly’s Adventures in Comics with Art Spiegelman (2013) and Sweet Lechery: Reviews, Essays and Profiles (2014), Heer has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, The American Prospect, The GuardianThe New Republic, and The Boston Globe.

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