MIKE ON YOUR FEED

Bloomberg Campaign Hiring Hundreds to Text Friends, Make Social Media Posts Backing 2020 Bid: WSJ

The “deputy digital organizers” will reportedly be paid $2,500 a month to text friends and make social media posts backing Bloomberg's bid.

Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg’s presidential campaign is hiring 500 “deputy digital organizers” in California who will send weekly texts and make daily social media posts backing Bloomberg’s bid for the White House. According to The Wall Street Journal, the organizers will work 20 to 30 hours a week and receive $2,500 a month for digitally spreading the word about Bloomberg—along with other, more conventional field-organizing tasks. The campaign described the effort as the future of political organizing, saying it will reach voters through people they know and trust. “We are meeting voters everywhere on any platform that they consume their news,” a spokeswoman for the campaign said. “One of the most effective ways of reaching voters is by activating their friends and network to encourage them to support Mike for president.”

According to the Journal, some social media posts of those being paid by the campaign do not disclose the posts as sponsored content—or content that was paid for. The spokeswoman said the campaign didn’t believe posts from “deputy digital organizers” needed to be labeled as sponsored content, claiming their efforts were different from purchased influencer content. The effort comes ahead of California’s March 3 primary, and could potentially be deployed nationwide.