Two social media influencers who previously targeted Tom Steyer’s gubernatorial run have filed new ethics complaints against Nithya Raman’s mayoral campaign. According to the Los Angeles Times, the filings accuse the Raman campaign of compensating online creators without proper financial disclosures. The documents, submitted to the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission and the Los Angeles Ethics Commission, received a legal assist from the campaign of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.
Legal Assistance and Financial Backing from the Bass Campaign
The origin of the new filings came to light through digital document properties. File metadata from a draft of the complaints reviewed last week revealed that the paperwork had been created with the help of the law firm used by Bass’ election campaign.
Beatrice Gomberg’s co-filer, Kaitlyn Hennessy, admitted to the Times that the Bass campaign directed them toward Kaufman Legal Group, which assisted in drafting the complaint. While the Bass campaign is picking up the tab for the legal work, Hennessy and Gomberg maintained that they received no direct financial compensation from Bass for their efforts.
Legal analysts suggest the arrangement is permissible under local oversight laws. Jeffrey Daar, a former president of the L.A. Ethics Commission, mentioned to the Times that a campaign or any consenting individual can legally use campaign attorneys to file an ethics complaint, as long as those expenses are properly recorded in official disclosure filings. The Bass campaign stated it intends to report the legal expenses fully.
Focus on Meme Accounts, Comedy Personalities, and Staff Members
The specific targets of the complaint include comedian and TV personality Adam Conover, alongside influencer-turned-Raman staffer Eric Cheng. The documents also take aim at various aggregate “meme” profiles that share user-generated media, occasionally directed by political campaigns.
Representatives for Nithya Raman firmly denied any wrongdoing regarding Cheng or campaign operations. Conover similarly pushed back against assertions of misconduct, telling the Times that money given by the campaign to an associated business was meant for video production by one of his employees rather than for his own online posts. Campaign financial disclosures initially labeled those transactions as online ad expenses before later being amended to reflect video production services.
A Raman campaign representative told the Times that Cheng receives compensation exclusively for his official campaign duties rather than for content on his personal social media pages, adding that the campaign sought advice from L.A. Ethics Commission personnel regarding disclosure mandates to guarantee compliance. The campaign additionally noted that Cheng took to his personal social media channel of his own accord to announce his upcoming campaign role prior to his official start date.
Regulatory Scrutiny and the Political Timing of Late-Stage Filings
The current inquiries follow earlier scrutiny directed at Conover’s online support for Raman, which formed the basis of separate ethics complaints filed in May by former L.A. City Council candidate Dylan Kendall. Both the FPPC and the L.A. Ethics Commission have declined to comment on the active status of either the previous or current investigations.
Observers point out that timing plays a critical role in how these administrative filings influence the electorate. Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University and a former president of the ethics commission, emphasized to the Times that ethics complaints filed in the final stretch of an election cycle demand heightened scrutiny due to their immediate political fallout. An evaluation by the FPPC regarding Steyer’s bid wrapped up recently with a determination that the campaign followed all regulations, though the agency noted that several online creators, including Cheng, failed to correctly report payments received from the Steyer effort.
California maintains some of the nation’s strictest regulatory frameworks governing paid political content on social media, with Los Angeles enforcing even tighter local mandates. Recent state legislation grants the FPPC the authority to refer suspected violations for misdemeanor prosecution, carrying fines up to $5,000 per violation, while the L.A. Ethics Commission retains the power to levy penalties up to $15,000 or three times the amount of money at issue.
Hennessy stated that she and Gomberg intend to continue scrutinizing undisclosed digital campaigns across multiple races, warning that hidden advertisements distort democratic participation by obscuring paid political messaging from everyday voters.
