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Secret $8K ‘Dark Money’ Sparks Creator Backlash
A covert influencer program backed by a dark money group offered creators $8K/month to push Democratic content—under NDA. Now it’s blowing up online.
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Influencer Allie O'Brien Challenges 'Wired' Report on Democratic 'Dark Money' Funding
Washington D.C. - Allie O'Brien, a prominent political content creator, has publicly challenged a recent "Wired" article titled "A Dark Money Group Is Secretly Funding High-Profile Democratic Influencers." The article, published on August 27, 2025, by Taylor Lorenz, alleged that a secretive liberal "dark money group" called The Sixteen Thirty Fund was backing a program named Chorus, which reportedly offered up to $8,000 a month to online creators. The "Wired" report claimed that Chorus contracts stipulated creators would be financially cut off if they acknowledged their participation in the program or funneled all bookings with lawmakers through Chorus.In a video response uploaded on August 28, 2025, O'Brien, who identifies as a leftist and a member of the Chorus program, presented what she called "receipts" to refute these claims. "I am a leftist that is known for being very critical of the Democratic Party," O'Brien stated, emphasizing her independence. She showed screenshots of the Chorus website, which publicly states its mission as a "collective of impactful voices coming together to end the far-right's domination of online conversation." She also displayed a video of another Chorus member publicly discussing the program in November 2024, directly contradicting the "Wired" article's claim of secrecy.Regarding the contract stipulations, O'Brien highlighted sections of her own Chorus contract. She clarified that while there is language asking creators to check with Chorus before making public statements, its purpose is to protect smaller creators from potential threats, not to enforce secrecy. "This is already an unsafe job for some people, check with us in advance so you don't accidentally like add to someone's unsafety," she explained. She further addressed the claim about funneling bookings, showing a contract clause that requires disclosure of engagements with government officials related to Chorus's policy agenda, but explicitly allows creators to arrange these themselves. O'Brien admitted to "accidentally" forgetting to inform Chorus about her self-arranged interviews, including with a congressional staffer, indicating a lack of strict enforcement or control. "Chorus does not control who I interview or what I post," she asserted.O'Brien also shed light on the nature of "dark money," defining it as funds raised by non-profit organizations that are not required to disclose their donors, often used to influence elections. While acknowledging her "distaste" for such funding mechanisms, she defended her participation in Chorus, which is funded by The Sixteen Thirty Fund. She described Chorus as a training program that provides resources and mentorship to help left-leaning political content creators become self-sufficient, thereby increasing the volume of progressive content online to counter the right-wing. "The threat of fascism is so big right now that there might need to be an order of operations," O'Brien concluded, suggesting that combating this threat sometimes necessitates working within existing, imperfect systems. She stressed that her content has not changed since joining the program and remains critical of all deserving parties.The comments section of O'Brien's video shows a mixed reaction, with some users questioning her integrity and pointing out perceived inconsistencies in her explanation, while others expressed support. Several commenters requested to see the full contract.
