Texas鈥� top campaign finance watchdog gave initial approval last week to a proposal that would require social media users to disclose if they are being paid to share or create political advertisements.
The Texas Ethics Commission鈥檚 action comes just months after The Texas Tribune that a secretive and politically-connected company, called Influenceable LLC, paid internet influencers to defend Attorney General ahead of his Senate impeachment trial.
The proposed rule could be finalized at the commission鈥檚 next meeting in June.
Commissioners did not mention Influenceable by name at their March 20 meeting. But the agency鈥檚 general counsel, James Tinley, noted that the rule change was in response to 鈥渁t least one business鈥� that paid social media users for undisclosed political messaging.
鈥淚t is not a hypothetical,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here is at least one business whose business model now is to do just that.鈥�
In August, the Tribune on Influenceable鈥檚 attempts to sway public opinion ahead of the impeachment trial by paying Gen Z social media influencers 鈥� some with millions of online followers 鈥� to claim that Paxton was the victim of a witch hunt. They also flooded social media with posts that accused House Speaker Dade Phelan, a longtime Paxton foe who greenlit the House investigation, of being a drunk.
Influenceable has to an array of prominent GOP groups and figures . The company has a partnership with Campaign Nucleus, a political messaging platform that is owned by Brad Parscale, a San Antonio native who led former President Donald Trump鈥檚 digital campaign strategy in 2016 and his reelection bid in 2020. And, last June, the company sponsored a in Fort Worth that was also attended by Midland billionaire Tim Dunn and his son, David. Parscale, who recently to work with Dunn, spoke at the event alongside Dunn and his son.
Dunn and another West Texas oil tycoon, Farris Wilks, have been by far the of Paxton鈥檚 political career. Since 2002, their groups and families have collectively given Paxton more than $4.65 million in donations and loans 鈥� triple what he鈥檚 received from his second-largest donor, Texans For Lawsuit Reform PAC.
Dunn and Wilks were also the behind Defend Texas Liberty, a political action committee that gave to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick before he presided over Paxton鈥檚 Senate trial. Campaign finance records also show that Defend Texas Liberty gave $18,000 to 鈥淚nfluencable LLC鈥� 鈥� an apparent misspelling 鈥� days before the Texas House made its investigation into Paxton public. Not long after the payment, an array of prominent influencers began to flood Instagram, TikTok or X, formerly known as Twitter, with pro-Paxton posts.
Throughout the summer, influencers also a new film that claimed the Texas House is secretly controlled by Democrats and 鈥淩epublicans In Name Only,鈥� or RINOs, who wanted to destroy conservatives. The film was produced by Texas Scorecard, a conservative website that is also funded by Dunn and Wilks. Leaked recruitment texts from Influenceable offered some social media figures $50 to share one post about the movie or share from Paxton鈥檚 personal X account.
Influencers then did exactly that, with some adding their own commentary alongside the post they鈥檇 shared from Paxton鈥檚 account. 鈥淩INOs in Texas are still trying to impeach Ken Paxton,鈥� wrote Vince Dao, a far-right activist with 240,000 Instagram followers. 鈥淪TOP THE WITCH HUNT!鈥�
Influenceable鈥檚 tactics outraged some Republicans last summer. Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, at the time that he was disgusted by the 鈥渕anufactured outrage鈥� and called for Influenceable to be investigated. Oliverson, who announced last week that he is running to be House speaker for the 2025 legislative session, also said he鈥檇 like lawmakers to address companies like Influenceable when they next meet. Since then 鈥� and amid a 2024 GOP primary that was rife with misinformation 鈥� other Republicans have also suggested reforming some of the state鈥檚 ethics and political advertising rules.
Dunn and Wilks spent more than on far-right primary candidates this year through a new political action committee, Texans United For a Conservative Majority, that was created last year after the Tribune reported that Defend Texas Liberty鈥檚 then-leader, , had hosted notorious white supremacist and Adolf Hitler admirer for nearly seven hours in October. Subsequent by the Tribune found numerous other or antisemites working for groups funded by Defend Texas Liberty 鈥� including social media figure who also attended the June event in Fort Worth that was sponsored by Influenceable.