Meet the Lobbyist Next Door

The posts looked like they had nothing in common. She urged her followers to sign up for a credit union. A physical therapist for the elderly in Florida encouraged her 3,900 followers to sign a petition demanding that Congress pass paid medical leave, sharing the story of her grandmothers battle with dementia. The posts were funded by organizations like the Credit Union National Association, the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, and Us AgainstAlzheimer's Action.

The posts were made possible by the same company that operates out of a loft in Alexandria, Virginia.

Urban Legend was launched in 2020 by two former Trump administration staffers. The mission is slightly more ambitious than it was in the past.

Staffed by a plucky 14-person team, Urban Legend keeps its largest asset hidden inside its server, an army of 700 social mediainfluencers who command varying degrees of allegiance from audiences that collectively number in the tens of millions. The company has painstakingly cultivated this roster to reflect every conceivable niche of society reflected on the internet: makeup artists, Nascar drivers, teachers, doulas, Real Housewives stars, moms, athletes, and the occasional Fox News pundit.

The Exchange is where buyers spell out the parameters of the message they want to push to the public and set a budget. The best offers from a menu are snatched byinfluencers who are free to craft the campaign's message. For every follower who joins a newsletter, the client pays for each conversion. Two years have passed and Urban Legend has run more than 400 campaigns. Henri Makembe, a veteran Democratic campaign strategist in Washington who has worked with Urban Legend several times, compared the concept to "unboxing" videos. The 15 billion dollar marketing industry is dominated by such productinfluencers. Makembe says that they can do that with an idea.

Ory Rinat is the founder and CEO of Urban Legend. Rinat was the director of digital strategy for the Trump White House. The rise of influencer marketing, the increase in trust in those people, and the rise of individuals to be their own media brand were some of the factors that led to the creation of Urban Legend. Rinat tells me that in retail and influencer politics, the creators range from 3,000 to 14 million followers.

Selling influence is the same thing as baseball. There are a lot of ways to get someone to do something. In politics, the more solicitous methods include automated phone calls and email solicitations. Anat Shenker-Osorio is a progressive campaign consultant based in California. appeals that make me feel like this is a real person talking to me are the most effective at persuading. This insight is reflected in Urban Legend's approach. Maybe their view on the minimum wage, or critical race theory, is worth considering if they helped you save for a vacation or earned you praise for their fashion tips. Is it possible to have someone give you information about politics? That could be an incredibly potent and powerful messenger.

The rise of this new messenger has made some uneasy. It's not clear if they are following federal disclosures. The prospect of an internet flush with untraceable money, in which Americans can no longer tell an earnest opinion from a paid one, is caused by the names of Urban Legend's clients being kept secret. A Fortune 50 tech company, a major labor union, and an environmental advocacy group are some of the clients of Rinat.

There has been a lot of interest in the business ofinfluencers in Washington. It's similar to the advent of super PACs a decade ago. Hany Farid, a professor of computer science at UC Berkeley who has briefed the Biden administration on social media regulation, predicted that Urban Legend's model will be revised before the presidential election. The future is what Farid said.

The existence of a black hole at the center of the internet that has pulled society into alignment with its goals is shared by both Urban Legend's boosters and its detractors. Makembe says that you need to look at where we are as a society to understand what Urban Legend is doing. He says there is a lack of trust in institutions, media, and each other. Others aren't as optimistic. "You're getting paid to manipulate your followers." A person with 3000 followers is now a lobbyist.

Rinat started his first business when he was 10. He enlisted his elementary school peers to sell his mail-order catalogs to his parents. The young Ory took a cut of the sales. The concept is similar to Urban Legend.

Rinat graduated from Columbia University with a degree in political science and history. He worked for Atlantic Media, the parent company of The Atlantic and National Journal, and attended the night program at Georgetown's law school. After the internet decimated their ad revenues, Rinat and his colleagues were experimenting with new ways to make magazines profitable. His team worked with big-name companies to create multimedia versions of magazine style stories.

The model was found to be a bad deal for corporate clients. He calls it an authenticity problem because few people raced to read the article. Theaccountability problem was also present. Corporate advertisers paid a lump sum and hoped people would see their ad. One DC trade association paid a marketing agency $300,000 to place ads on Facebook that urged users to email their congressperson. The group netted 600 emails.

Rinat speaks the language of internet marketing, which meansaccountability,authenticity, and making people believe your message is genuine, even though someone paid for it. The challenges had implications beyond journalism. He started asking strange questions around Washington, such as the price corporate buyers were willing to pay for a letter. One client had an answer. He wondered if a new development could solve these problems. He thought that what was left was the mechanism.

Rinat was directing digital strategy for the Heritage Foundation. Rinat was appointed by the State Department to work on a program to combat violent Extremism and Terrorism Online. The new White House director of digital strategy failed an FBI background check and was replaced by Rinat. He continued to stay on. He helped redesign the White House website from his office in the Eisenhower Building.

The company was located along a spectrum of persuasion. What is the best thing on that spectrum? He says it is probably a one- to-one communication. "We're just below that."

By that time, the influence of social media on politics had increased. Rinat looked at ways to increase their power. The White House Social Media Summit was organized by Rinat and Sondra Clark. At the event, Trump gathered in the East Room with about 200 online "digital leaders" in conservative politics. Trump told the crowd that the stuff they think of is crazy. According to an administration official who attended, the event was part of a larger strategy in which social media experts were given an exclusive look at what the administration was doing, and then were given the chance to post about their time at the White House. They said that Sondra and Ory were the architects of that.

The ultimate gig labor force, capable of delivering what he called "cost-per-action marketing, with client-set rates," was what Rinat was looking for. His business idea was being floated to mentors. David Bradley was the Atlantic Media Chair. Rinat left the White House. Clark became the president of Urban Legend less than a month later. Their first client was their previous boss. The Trump campaign paid Rinat's firm more than $1 million in the second half of 2020.

Rinat was showing me the history from the corner of Urban Legend's brick-and-cedar office. There is a boutique pizzeria and a clothing store on the top floor of the house. Rinat has a clean-shaven head and a solemn air, except for amused eyes that turn up cheerily at the corners when he is considering a proposal. He says that the technology they are talking about is not new. We just put it together.

The small conference room had chic furniture and a small library. Rules for Revolutionaries and Confrontational Politics were books written by two consultants for the senator from Vermont. Rinat spun through a tour of the Exchange on a large television monitor that was hanging on the wall. After setting up my creator account, we clicked on a tab called "My Campaigns." I was presented with campaigns from a number of advertisers. A sustainable packaging company that wanted my followers to sign up for its newsletter was one of the dummies. The company had a limit on the number of sign-ups it would allow. I decided to join the campaign after checking a box.

The irony of this is here. Urban legend relies on the same thing, that it is potentially destroying.

I was getting paid to influence for cash. The shipmates suggested that I use rhetoric to get my followers to join the conversation. It was up to me to create this appeal. I was given a menu of custom links, each of which was traced to me, and each of which I was given a different platform to use. Rinat had an employee sign up for the newsletter when they clicked on one of my links. The ticker on my dashboard was labeled "Your Conversions" Rinat looked at that. You made a buck. Urban Legend can track visits to an advertiser's website, books on Amazon, op-eds in The New York Times, and email to Congress.

Sophia was at a desk a few feet away. The internet is a good place to find social media personas who have a loyal following and post in areas that advertisers want to reach. Rinat says that fast-growing sectors are parenting and wellbeing. James Hong was the company's 30-year-old vice president. Hong and others call theinfluencers to check out their demeanor and professionalism after they are flagged. Rinat says that Urban Legend's influencer are "multi-faceted". Climate change or religion are issues that are passionate about but not always posting about.

After a team lunch, Urban Legend's president, Sondra Clark, joined us at the conference table to explain the art of influencer management. There is a large, meticulously maintained database that contains the names of ChosenInfluencers. Push notifications from Urban Legend can be sent to corporate clients to encourage them to support causes that are close to their hearts. Clark was set against Rinat's more austere style. The Exchange was framed as empowering She said she wanted to talk about human traffickers. That is great. They get a message from us saying there is a campaign in your account.

Rinat and Clark like to emphasize causes with a liberal bent but they left their more conservative campaigns a mystery. Rinat was tactful when we talked about the Exchange's influence on politics. He said that he wanted the platform to work with everyone. The majority of Urban Legend's staff are from the world of marketing, he said. It isn't left-right when you're talking about hospital price transparency. Rinat said it's beyond politics.

It would all be apparent when I met Rinat's chosen people. One of them was Zahra Biabani, the creator of the social media sites and the one who was recruited by Urban Legend. She was unaware that she could be paid for sharing a petition. She has around 30,000 followers on IG and 19,000 on TikTok, which she uses to post what she calls "climate optimism." She also likes to listen to a pop soundtrack. One of her dances was shown on Earth Day. Urban Legend didn't ask her to do anything unusual. She suggests that you could get paid for promoting things that she already promotes. The Exchange is a low-effort and non-controversial way of using the values-aligned audience that I built as an influencer.

An older adult physical therapist posts geriatric care advice on her social media accounts. She says it feels weird to say she is an influential person. She made about $500 last year by posting for four campaigns on the Exchange. She told her followers how dementia had affected her grandmother and urged them to sign a petition for paid medical leave. LaRese Purnell is a tax accountant from Ohio who helps Black families with financial planning. Purnell, who has hosted a Friday morning radio show in Cleveland, estimates that he has 100,000 followers on various platforms. Purnell was directed into campaigns that fit his image. He talked about the benefits of credit unions while walking his dog. Purnell said that people in the community would believe him if he told them that the best shoestrings were from Urban Legend. Trust is built by me.

The clients who bought these ads are happy. Rinat showed me to two people. The users who came from Purnell and others were more likely to take action than their typical traffic, according to a veteran marketing executive. Sean is the owner of a technology company that blocks pornography from family devices. The campaign attracted a wide array of spokespeople, and the Exchange brought new ones to the table. In his twenties, one of the firebrand political commentators was very political, very controversial, while others were news media personalities who attracted large followings on social media.

While Urban Legend's model was effective, it raised deeper questions. Plato wrote a dialog in which two gods argued about the invention of writing. He warned that trust in writings by outsiders would degrade critical faculties.

Rinat convened an all-hands meeting before the afternoon ended to discuss the Exchange's upcoming mobile app. Words like "authentic" and "trust" were the most important refrains throughout the day. The company was located along a spectrum of persuasion. What is the best thing on that spectrum? He says it is probably a one- to-one communication. "We're just below that." Clark explained that the key was that the message was crafted by influential people. She says that the Exchange allows the creators' voices to sing.

The White House filmed a series of clips with a TikTok star to promote a vaccine. The war in Ukraine was briefed on by the Biden administration. The Washington Post reported that activist groups and their Big Tech opponents each hired a TikTok personality to make videos in support of their cause.

Washington's political power brokers are slowly moving towards a full embrace of influential people. When the arrangement is revealed, it can be hazardous. During the Democratic presidential primary of 2020, a super PAC for Senator Cory Booker tried to get people to give them money. A surge of meme creators began aggressively pushing his candidacy, but some left it unclear whether the posts had been sponsored.

Lying to be ethical is not a good idea.

The Federal Trade Commission requires people to report if they have been paid to endorse something online. The FTC commissioner issued a statement clarifying that payola is when someone pretends that their endorsement or review isuntainted by a financial relationship. One brand has been fined by the FTC for misleading influencer marketing, but no other brands have been fined for failing to disclose.

The honor system is what Urban Legend has in mind when it comes to disclosure. When they agree to the terms and conditions, they need to make disclosures. The FTC is the one who enforces the provision. It's their responsibility when we do our due diligence.

This posture was not convincing to researchers who spoke to WIRED. Renée DiResta says lying to be ethical is naive. She said that law hasn't caught up to digital infrastructure. Many think that the lack of disclosure enforcement has made political money go to people who don't register with Facebook. The Federal Elections Commission has no rules regarding social media.

The incentive to produce and amplify content in the most inflammatory way possible may be created by the click per payment model. Researchers were concerned about the possibility of deception in civic discourse. The public doesn't understand the extent to which the people making these posts are becoming enriched personally by them.

From your credulous grandmother all the way up to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the consequences of not revealing your ties can be felt. One client of the Urban Legend campaign tried to apply pressure on the FCC. Eric Bolling, a disgraced former Fox News host, was one of the people President Trump followed on the social media platform. The goal was to apply as much pressure as possible on the FCC. The person said that the FCC commissioner, Ajit Pai, and the president followed and saw what happened.

There is no sign of Bolling on his feed today. Urban Legend's campaigns were no exception, they were deleted when they ran their course. Rinat said that if a link leads to a campaign page where the sponsor can be found, followers will know the identity of the client. He said transparency is important to the model. Audience trust goes down and engagement goes down without it. He called for more clarity from the agencies.

Urban Legend does not reveal the identities of its clients or the people it pays.

Urban Legend does not reveal the identities of its clients or the people it pays. The Exchange isripe for abuse due to the company's hands-off approach to disclosure.

The appearance is not good. It's hiding something bad.

When a man speaks of his love for his country, it is a sign that he expects to be paid for it. At the time, the idea that Americans would happily sell anything, even their patriotism, seemed to be an amusing hypothetical. Maybe Mencken didn't live long enough to see Americans offer the chance.

Jesselyn Cook, a reporter for the Huffington Post, noticed a wave of posts on the social media site that appeared to correspond with the timing of a large payment to Urban Legend. The National Republican Senatorial Committee raises money for senatorial campaigns. The posts demanded a full investigation into Biden-tech colludes and called for an end to mask mandates. The posts were linked to the petitions.

Rinat initially denied that the campaigns came from Urban Legend. A few weeks later, an Urban Legend client shared some backdated pictures of their posts. Users were directed to a petition by each of the posts. The top-level domain ".to" is registered to the country of Tonga and has a history that cannot be seen, according to researchers who examined the string. Bit.ly is a URL shortening service that can be used by private business clients to turn their registered domains into links to other websites. Since Urban Legend's founding in 2020, "exc.to" could not be found elsewhere on the internet, except in one place.

Over 700 posts were found when WIRED used third-party search tools to find the URL string. The use of "exc.to" suddenly stopped after Cook's report. Urban Legend's links use a standard Bit.ly format identical to billions of others on the internet, making them untraceable. The posts were very similar to what Rinat had said. The websites of the Credit Union National Association and Us Against-Alzheimer's Action are linked. Many of them shared the same language in their appeals.

Rinat didn't describe the other, more striking posts. They were given the power to connect with their value-aligned audiences and elevate causes that made them passionate.

The left thinks that parents who stand up for their beliefs in schools are terrorists. There are thousands of illegal immigrants waiting to rush our border when Democrats pass their infrastructure bill. The left is coming for religious freedom again, and there were posts from people on the internet. The creators were linked to conservative institutions such as the America First Policy Institute. The former contestant from The Bachelor who filmed his video appeal without a shirt was not affiliated with any other group. Every day, I get an amber alert. This is crazy.

Campaigns lead to a page for email harvesting. The traffic went to conservative publishers like the Patriot Post, to an online course by Hillsdale College, and to pages that appeared to be run by the Second Amendment Foundation. Posters occasionally appealed to take the prolife pledge. Critical race theory, immigration, and vaccine policies were invoked more often in rallies.

Several big-influencers were among the creators. Donald Trump Jr. had a lot of time on his hands. There are vaccine passports and mask mandates. He shared an NRSC petition in July of 2011. Laura Ingraham is the host of Fox News. There is a link to Heritage Action. Dan Scavino was a former social media adviser to the president.

The majority of the posts were conservative. Walter Masterson was the top contributor on the social networking site, posting in support of a $20 minimum wage. The posts were sponsored by groups like the Service Employees International Union and the Business Council for sustainable energy. One IBM campaign was nonpartisan.

The posts did not cover deleted campaigns. Several creators and clients were contacted by WIRED. Several of them confirmed that they had contracted with Urban Legend. Rinat indicated by email that some of them have worked with Urban Legend, but that others have not.

There were just five people who didn't open their payments. These posts had over one hundred thousand engagements.

According to researchers, the major platforms, the FTC, and marketing firms all have a part to play. The march of influential people will continue until that day. More than $500,000 was paid to Urban Legend by the NRSC in February and March. Do you think this becomes normal? DiResta wants to know. I believe it does.

Anat Shenker-Osorio says the irony of the situation. Urban Legend is relying on exactly the same thing. She admits that progressive groups would use the model if it became the norm. She stopped. You don't want to disarm

A reclamation project was one view of Urban Legend. The model looked like an excavation like the mining of a rare mineral. Trust is a scarce and fading resource in a country. It is put up for sale.

The additional reporting was done by Samspeng.

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