Social media influencers add new angle to Chicago mayoral race
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Earlier this week, Mayor Brandon Johnson's political operation drew scrutiny for paying a social media creator to post a supportive video about him on her account.
Why it matters: The move kicks off a campaign season when Chicagoans are likely to see a lot more paid and unpaid collaborations with influencers blurring the lines between opinions, grassroots support and paid messaging.
Driving the news: Axios reached out to several mayoral candidates to ask if and how they will use social media content creators in their campaign.
- Some chose not to answer the question while others said they definitely are and one said the campaign is still deciding.
Catch up quick: This week the Chicago Tribune confirmed Johnson's political operation paid content creator Rebecca Lehmann to post videos about the mayor, which she did after an interview with him during a two-day creator event.
For the record: Lehmann, a marketing specialist, labeled the post as a "paid partnership" and wrote:
- "I maintained creative control over my content, was careful to ensure that what I created aligned to both my values and my niche as a content creator, and I would not have done it under any other conditions."
What they're saying: "Campaigns pay networks to play a commercial saying positive things, right? I mean, that's a pretty age-old practice," Johnson told Axios this week when asked if he thought the practice is deceptive.
- "You pay vendors to put out a mailer to say something positive about a campaign … I don't believe that's deceptive, especially when it's the truth."
- "In terms of whether or not it's the wave of the future … people have been using social media influencers prior to me."
The other side: "Collaborations with creators in Chicago will be part of Susana Mendoza's campaign, based on common ground, concerns and interests vs. paid-first transactions," Mendoza campaign spokesperson John Digle tells Axios.
- "Susana's campaign is exploring new ways to engage more Chicagoans in discussion of the issues in the mayoral race and boosting voter registration and turnout. Creator collaborations are part of those pursuing those objectives."
Yes, but: Rep. Mike Quigley's campaign says it hasn't paid any influencers and has not engaged in "meaningful conversations yet about whether we will do so at a later date."
What we're watching: How other mayoral hopefuls will engage influencers.
- Axios reached out to candidates Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, Chicago Housing Authority chair Matt Brewer, healthcare professional Lisa Nee and Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas but did not hear back.
Editors note: After this story was published, a mayoral press aide emailed Axios to clarify that it was not the mayor's "office" but instead his "political operation" that paid money to the content creator.
- The story has been amended to reflect this statement.