Texas Proposes Disclosure Rules for Paid Political Influencers After Reports of Secretive Campaigns Funded by Conservative Megadonors
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Texas Ethics Commission gave initial approval to a proposal requiring social media influencers to disclose if they are being paid for political ads. This comes after reports that a company called Influenceable LLC paid influencers to defend Attorney General Ken Paxton before his impeachment trial.
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Influenceable has connections to GOP figures allied with Paxton, including Brad Parscale's political messaging platform Campaign Nucleus. The company also sponsored an event attended by Midland billionaire Tim Dunn and his son David.
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Dunn and Farris Wilks have given Paxton over $4.65 million in donations and loans, and were main financiers of a PAC that gave Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick $3 million before he presided over Paxton's trial.
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Influencers promoted a film accusing Texas House Republicans of being "Republicans In Name Only" trying to destroy conservatives. The film was made by Texas Scorecard, also funded by Dunn and Wilks.
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Rep. Tom Oliverson called for investigating Influenceable last summer and wants to address such companies. Dunn and Wilks continue to fund far-right candidates through a new PAC after reports of white supremacists working for their groups.