A Dark-Money Campaign Is Paying Influencers to Frame Chinese AI as a Threat
4 hours ago
- #Dark Money Politics
- #AI Influence Campaign
- #China-US Tech Race
- A dark-money group called Build American AI, linked to a $100 million super PAC supported by tech figures, is funding an influencer campaign on social media.
- The campaign's first phase used lifestyle influencers to promote US AI industry and innovation; the second phase focuses on framing China's AI rise as a threat to American safety and jobs.
- Influencers are paid, such as $5,000 per TikTok video, to amplify messaging that beating China in AI is crucial, often without full disclosure of the funding source or political agenda.
- The campaign targets both left-leaning and right-leaning influencers, with talking points echoing tech executives' warnings about China dominating AI and the need for US leadership to protect democracy.
- Critics argue that undisclosed paid influencer content, labeled only as ads without revealing the underlying agenda, is propagandistic and corrosive to democratic information ecosystems.