Progressive House candidate Kat Abughazaleh told MS NOW the secretive campaign is “filled with false and defamatory claims.”

A week out from a crowded and contentious Democratic primary in Illinois’s 9th Congressional District, Amanda Informed, an online influencer in Florida received an email with an offer: one negative post about candidate Kat Abughazaleh on Instagram and TikTok, for $1,500.

The request, which came from a secretive political organization called Democracy Unmuted, was forwarded to her by Matt Anthes, founder of Advocators, a digital marketing agency focused on politics and advocacy through micro-influencers.

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It’s unclear how many creators were ultimately part of the Democracy Unmuted campaign.

MS NOW found several recent creator videos that seemed to follow the Democracy Unmuted brief targeting Abughazaleh.

One, from Justin Kralemann, a Missouri creator who posts about progressive politics, recited whole sentences from the Democracy Unmuted brief. Kralemann, wearing a white hat with “WOKE” emblazoned on the front, mispronounced Abughazaleh’s name and told his combined one million followers on Instagram and TikTok that it was important “to look past viral personalities and ask who is running and why” — a quote matching a suggested quote in the brief.