Montana college athletes are being approached with cash incentives to create endorsement videos in support of Jon Tester’s re-election bid as he faces a challenging race for one of the Democratic Party’s most at-risk Senate seats in the 2024 election cycle.
According to emails obtained by Fox News Digital, the three-term senator has gotten a little desperate in his attempts to show he’s still connected with his home state.
A group called “Montana Together” recently sourced athletes at the University of Montana (UMT), offering payments in exchange for the promotion of Tester, according to the school’s athletic director, Kent Haslam.
In July, the initial contact was made on behalf of “Montana Together” through a representative at Opendorce.com, a platform used as a marketplace for athletes to score Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals. NIL is a policy approved by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2021 that allows college athletes to monetize their content.
The group was offering student athletes a range of offers from $400 to $2,400 in exchange for a video “spreading the word” about the Democratic senator, a copy of the emails shared with Fox News Digital reveals.
“We have an NIL opportunity for Montana student-athletes, and I could use your help getting the information below to any individuals who you recommend applying for this campaign. Montana Together is using Opendorse to source athletes for an NIL deal,” the email obtained by Fox News Digital reads. “Who are they looking for?: Athletes who attend college in Montana and are interested in spreading the word about Senator Jon Tester and causes you care about.”
The offers presented to the students included $400 for creating two scripted videos, $800 for producing two unscripted videos, and $2,400 for four unscripted video endorsements.
Democrats have come to see social media “influencers” as a way to show that their party is still connected to youth, despite soaring costs of college and housing over the past three years.
A report by Lee Fang revealed that the party has been spending thousands in “dark money” to buy the endorsements of TikTok influencers in hopes of engaging with young voters.
“The party provided content creators with tiki bar parties, a VIP suite at the United Center, a private boat tour on Lake Michigan, and a ‘blue carpet’ with exclusive access to Democratic lawmakers and politicians. Online personalities known for singing, dancing and food reviews were encouraged to post supportive messages about the Harris-Walz presidential ticket.
That much is well-known by now, as many journalists have commented on the party’s velvet glove treatment for TikTok celebrities while slashing credentials for professional reporters.
But what is less known is the sprawling dark money effort to funnel undisclosed cash to social media ‘influencers.’ As Americans, on average, spend about two hours a day scrolling social media, such payments have become critical in the online messaging wars.
Fang writes that the Harris campaign spent nearly $2 million to a marketing agency that specialized in securing social media influencers.
“No federal rules require disclosure when a TikTok star or Instagram personality is paid to promote an election-related message,” writes Fang. “Although efforts have been made to reform election transparency rules, little has changed. Last December, the FEC formally punted on the issue.”
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I’m gonna take a swag and presume that the good folks in Montana are just too close to see thru his astroturfing while it is blatantly obvious to those of us several states away.
Typical “stinking demonRAT”. Smart enough to know he can’t pay them to vote. But paying them to make a video of support IS different. So this SOB can’t be charged with vote fraud. Let’s hope his opponent lets the people know about this slime bag politician right now.
Tester must be paying many. It is hard to imagine Montana supporting an ultra liberal, Biden/Harris supporting Democrat like him.