By Sofia Rubinson and Sam Howard | Published on Oct. 30, 2026

In October 2026, a consulting firm called R&H Strategies emailed 60 online political influencers with varying numbers of followers offering up to $2,000 to post a one-minute TikTok video supporting the positions of a congressional candidate. There was one condition: The influencers could not tell their viewers that they had been paid to create the video.

Twenty-one influencers replied that they were interested in the deal, voicing no objections to the condition. Five declined the offer. Two asked follow-up questions about the nondisclosure. (The rest did not respond.) 

The wide variety of responses reveals both the lack of an industry standard and widespread confusion over disclosing paid political content. The willingness to keep the arrangement secret cut across party lines and audience sizes. Left-leaning creators were more receptive than right-leaning ones — 12 of 30 (40 percent) from the left versus nine of 30 (30 percent) from the right. All five flat refusals came from right-leaning influencers.

The creators with mid-sized audiences were most likely to accept the offer: 10 of 20 with 50,000 to 150,000 followers, compared to five of 20 with fewer than 50,000 followers and six of 20 with more than 150,000 followers.

In fact, R&H Strategies is not a real firm. NewsGuard created it to test how readily political influencers would pass off paid campaign messaging as their own work — a practice that is legal in federal political races, although not under Federal Trade Commission rules if the product being endorsed is a commercial product rather than a political candidate. However, TikTok’s rules bar political advertising, including creators being paid for creating political content, whether disclosed or not. (More on this below.)

HOW THIS OPERATION WORKED

NewsGuard built a website and email account for “R&H Strategies,” presenting it as a firm that connects influencers with political and advocacy groups. On Oct. 13, “R&H Strategies” emailed 60 U.S.-based TikTok creators who had demonstrated a clear political orientation: 30 on the right and 30 on the left. Each group was divided by audience size into three tiers of 10 each: under 50,000 followers, 50,000 to 150,000 followers, and more than 150,000 followers.

Each creator received a request tailored to their politics. Left-leaning creators were told the political campaign they would be speaking for was “focused on affordability, healthcare, and threats to democracy.” Right-leaning creators were told the campaign “focused on law and order, border security, and election integrity.” 

The email offered between $750 to $2,000 for a one-minute TikTok video to be produced by the influencer advancing the campaign’s messaging in his or her own words. The offer included this condition: “For purposes of the campaign, we are looking for content that feels organic and consistent with your usual voice and style. As such, we ask that you not disclose that the video is paid content.”

NewsGuard then was able to schedule phone calls with 21 of the 60 creators who replied to the emails expressing interest in the offer. On those calls, a NewsGuard reporter, still posing as a “R&H” consultant, restated the terms of the deal and explicitly asked whether the creator would agree to the requirement that they post a political ad without disclosing payment. After the influencer confirmed their agreement or, in three cases, asked follow-up questions, the reporter then revealed that R&H Strategies was not real, identified themselves as a journalist, and asked to interview the influencer about paid political content. 

No videos were actually commissioned or produced, and no money changed hands.

THE RESULTS: A MIXED BAG

As noted above, of the 28 influencers who replied to the email outreach, 21 expressed interest in discussing the R&H proposal in a follow-up call, while five refused the offer and two asked about the legality of the practice and the purpose of the nondisclosure request.

The initial email outreach resulted in 12 phone interviews. (Nine influencers either did not respond to emails scheduling the call, did not pick up the phone at the scheduled time, or did not respond to voicemails.) During these phone interviews, nine of the influencers or their representatives who believed they were speaking with “R&H Strategies” confirmed that they agreed to post the campaign’s message without a disclosure that it was a paid placement. 

“Yeah, that’s fine,” said Bogdan Laurentiu, a Romanian immigrant based in Texas whose conservative TikTok account @immi.grateful has 461,700 followers. Erica Choinka, a Missouri-based conservative TikTok creator with 72,000 followers on her account @politicsforher, responded by saying, “Yeah I think so.” Left-leaning creator in Nashville Abigail Cox, whose TikTok account @abuhgailfaith has 42,600 followers, responded, “Yes, absolutely.” 

Laurentiu and Choinka both ended their calls soon after NewsGuard identified itself, and Cox told NewsGuard after the reveal that she has previously disclosed paid content and that she “always wants to make sure that we are staying in the legal realm when it comes to paid disclosures.”

Three of the influencers NewsGuard spoke to were represented by talent managers who took the call on behalf of the influencers. All three agreed to their client posting the paid political message without disclosure.

“Yes,” said Raphael Orleck-Jetter, a talent manager at UnderCurrent, speaking for left-leaning, California-based influencer Josh Greene (@joshtheprogressive), who has 333,800 followers on TikTok. Orleck-Jetter ended the call soon after NewsGuard revealed itself. Greene did not respond to an emailed request for comment.  

Reid Pakula, a vice president of talent at IF Management, represents Debra Lea, a New York-based conservative commentator and guest contributor on Fox News who has 83,100 followers on TikTok. Pakula said over email that “[Lea] could do this” and asked if R&H Strategies could “do any more than $2,000.”

In the subsequent phone interview, Pakula answered, “For sure, yeah,” when asked if Lea could post the sponsored political message without a payment disclosure. Once NewsGuard revealed that R&H Strategies is not a real firm, Pakula declined to talk on the record. Pakula later said over email: “She would not post without revealing that it’s an ad.” Lea did not respond to a direct message on X seeking comment.

Left-leaning Cincinnati-based influencer Eumie Shin, who has 312,800 TikTok followers, is represented by Palette Media. When presented with the proposal over email, Shin’s talent manager Sam Bohmer said that her “rate for a video like this is typically $5000-$7500.” In a phone interview, both Bohmer and talent director Amanda Morones responded, “Yes,” when asked if Shin would produce a paid political message without a payment disclosure. Bohmer and Morones ended the call soon after NewsGuard revealed that the offer was not authentic.

Following the call, after the NewsGuard reporter revealed the true nature of the interview, Morones said in an email: “Our email correspondence and call were preliminary discussions about a potential engagement that, as you’ve since told us, was not genuine. They did not constitute acceptance of any engagement or agreement to any terms, including terms relating to payment or disclosure.” Morones’ client, Shin, did not respond to an email seeking comment.

“I’M NOT SURE IF I’M BEING SET UP” 

Vanessa Reynolds (@pensacolapolitics), a left-leaning creator in Florida with 96,800 TikTok followers, asked why the political campaign did not want to disclose payment. After NewsGuard revealed the true nature of this exercise, Reynolds said she took the call because she was curious about which campaign was behind it, adding, “I would never do a video that I have not disclosed.”

A Texas-based left-leaning influencer who goes by the name Mommma Liz and has 75,100 followers on TikTok voiced suspicions from the beginning of the call, saying about nondisclosure: “I’ve never done that before, so that is a bit odd. I’m not sure if I’m being set up right now.”

Reached by phone, Missouri-based conservative TikTok creator Heather Overstreet, who has 73,200 followers, asked, “Are you guys aware that you’re technically not allowed to do that?” She continued: “We have the Missouri Ethics Commission, and if you’re working with a campaign you have to disclose that.” After the phone call, Overstreet posted a TikTok video recording of the call.

In fact, the commission’s then-executive director said in an April 2019 memorandum: “Missouri statutes do not require ‘paid-for-by’ disclosures on digital media.”

YES, WITH CONDITIONS

Others agreed to the non-disclosure arrangement with caveats. Asked if she could produce the video without disclosing it was sponsored, left-leaning Georgia-based influencer Izzy Hodges, who has 106,800 TikTok followers, said “it depends on the topic but yes.” Commenting after NewsGuard disclosed the true nature of this exercise, Hodges said that she has “never, ever, ever been paid for political content” and that her political videos “are all my opinion and completely unpaid.” 

Castille Landon, a Kentucky-based influencer who runs the progressive TikTok account @stilleaworkinprogress (472,400 followers) with her mother, Dori Rath, said that she could make the video without a disclosure “as long as it’s educational,” adding, “we prefer to do stuff that feels off-the-cuff.” After the reporter identified himself as a journalist, Landon said that “the majority of [paid] things that we’ve posted that was not disclosed were encouraging people to vote.” Landon declined to say who paid for the posts she described.

Landon said she was unaware of any industry standard covering paid disclosures, telling NewsGuard: “From what I understand, you have to post that it’s a paid partnership if you are promoting a product or a particular candidate. But I don’t know the actual rules.”

Amber Miller, a Virginia-based influencer who posts lifestyle and motherhood content interspersed with conservative politics, also acknowledged confusion over what practices are allowed or acceptable regarding paid political content. Asked whether airing unlabeled paid political content seemed doable, Miller said: “It does, I just didn’t know how that works. Obviously I don’t want either of us in trouble. Is there a certain tag or anything of that matter that has to be done?”

In an interview after NewsGuard disclosed that it had created R&H Strategies to learn about influencer industry standards, Miller said, “If I’ve ever shared anything political on my feed up to this point it’s been because I truly felt that.” She also told NewsGuard, “If I’m being paid I always do [disclose] because it’s required by the FTC.”

WHAT ARE THE RULES?

Actually, the Federal Trade Commission does not require influencers to disclose when political  content is sponsored. Nor does any other federal agency. The FTC requires disclosure of paid commercial endorsements by influencers. However, enforcement, while increasing as online influencing related to commercial products has grown into a multibillion dollar business, is still relatively rare. But the FTC regulations exempt political messaging on First Amendment grounds. The Federal Election Commission requires candidates to disclose their spending, but does not require influencers to disclose when they receive money from campaigns. 

California and Texas are among a small number of states that require influencers to disclose paid political messaging, but those rules apply only to state and local races, not messages relating to federal races, such as the ones pitched by R&H Strategies. Earlier this year, multiple news outlets reported that billionaire Tom Steyer, a Democrat who ran in the California gubernatorial primary, paid dozens of influencers to post favorably about his campaign, many of whom did not include a payment disclosure. The state’s Fair Political Practices Commission opened an investigation into Steyer’s campaign, finding in September that the campaign had properly notified the influencers about their statutory requirements around disclosure, according to press accounts. 

TikTok does have rules about these practices. The company states in its Business Resource Center that the platform “do[es] not allow paid political advertising,” including “creators being compensated for making branded political content.” The rules do not distinguish between paid political messages that are disclosed and those that are not.

NewsGuard asked TikTok about the rationale for its policy and whether a TikTok user would be in violation of the policy by posting content promoting a candidate without disclosing that they were paid to do this. In response, a TikTok U.S. spokesperson told NewsGuard in an email: “If you want to quote, you can cite directly from these public resources,” including a link to the company’s policy pages. 

One of the policies, titled “Continuing to protect and secure TikTok through the U.S. midterm elections” and dated Oct. 5, 2026, states: “Paid political ads are prohibited on TikTok in the United States. This means accounts belonging to politicians or political parties can’t advertise or use our platform’s monetization features. It also means that creators should not participate in paid political branded content campaigns.” 

Nonetheless, it’s not surprising that influencers are using their own judgment and applying their own standards regarding paid political messaging. And some are aware that they risk losing their followers’ trust if they are not up front about the nature of the content they are sharing.

“When your followers find that out, they lose a lot of respect for you,” said Florida-based influencer Vanessa Reynolds, one of the influencers who was open to the arrangement via email but declined during the call. “That loses all trust.”

THE EMAILS NEWSGUARD SENT TO THE INFLUENCERS

Initial “R&H Strategies” email to left-leaning influencers: 

Subject line: Paid creator opportunity

Hi [Name],

I’m reaching out from R&H Strategies, a communications firm working on a congressional campaign focused on affordability, healthcare, and threats to democracy. 

We’re looking to partner with a small number of creators whose audiences align with the campaign, and we’d love to explore working with you.

We will provide talking points for a one-minute video delivered by you. We’re offering between $750 to $2,000 for the video depending on post performance, with the content to be posted on your TikTok account.

For purposes of the campaign, we are looking for content that feels organic and consistent with your usual voice and style. As such, we ask that you not disclose that the video is paid content. 

If you would like to proceed under this arrangement, I’d be happy to set up a call to discuss the campaign and next steps. Given the upcoming election, we are looking for a fast turnaround.

Best,

Sofia

R&H Strategies

randhstrategies.com 

Initial “R&H Strategies” email to right-leaning influencers: 

Subject line: Paid creator opportunity

Hi [Name],

I’m reaching out from R&H Strategies, a communications firm working on a congressional campaign focused on law and order, border security, and election integrity. 

We’re looking to partner with a small number of creators whose audiences align with the campaign, and we’d love to explore working with you.

We will provide talking points for a one-minute video delivered by you. We’re offering between $750 to $2,000 for the video depending on post performance, with the content to be posted on your TikTok account.

For purposes of the campaign, we are looking for content that feels organic and consistent with your usual voice and style. As such, we ask that you not disclose that the video is paid content. 

If you would like to proceed under this arrangement, I’d be happy to set up a call to discuss the campaign and next steps. Given the upcoming election, we are looking for a fast turnaround.

Best,

Sofia

R&H Strategies

randhstrategies.com

Editing by Eric Effron