TikTok for $5,000: OpenAI-Linked Dark Money Group Hires Influencers to Promote 'Chinese AI Threat'

According to monitoring by Beating, an investigation by WIRED has found that the nonprofit organization Build American AI is systematically paying social media influencers through the marketing agency SM4 to spread messages about the ‘Chinese AI threat to America’ on TikTok and Instagram. Build American AI is a dark money organization (501©(4), not required to disclose donors) affiliated with the super PAC Leading the Future, which has received funding from OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and AI company Perplexity. The campaign operates in two phases. The first phase recruits lifestyle influencers to broadly promote the benefits of American AI, with several mommy and family bloggers with hundreds of thousands of followers participating in posts, labeling them as ‘ads’ but not disclosing specific funding sources. The second phase shifts to a narrative about China, with SM4 recruiting creators at a rate of $5,000 per TikTok video, asking them to naturally incorporate phrases about ‘China stealing American data and jobs’ into their everyday content (such as making breakfast for their kids). Sample scripts provided by Build American AI state: ‘China is desperately trying to beat America in AI; if they win, they can access my and my children’s personal data and take jobs that should belong to Americans.’ The campaign operates along political lines: SM4 is responsible for recruiting left-leaning creators, while another partner organization targets right-leaning ones. Internal briefing documents indicate plans to expand from female lifestyle bloggers to left-wing political commentators, business tech leaders, and male lifestyle bloggers. WIRED reporter Taylor Lorenz learned about the details of the campaign after being invited by SM4, and several other creators who received similar invitations confirmed the operation. Leading the Future claims to have received $140 million in donations and commitments, with $51 million available as of April. FEC documents show that the Brockmans each donated $12.5 million, while Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz each contributed $12.5 million. OpenAI stated that the company has no affiliation with Leading the Future or Build American AI and has not provided funding or any support; Palantir also stated it did not contribute. Jamie Cohen, an associate professor of media studies at Queen’s College, told WIRED that influencers accepting undisclosed funding to promote specific companies’ messages leaves the public completely unaware, which is ‘extremely corrosive to democracy’ and ‘this is propaganda.’