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CfA's November 17, 2023 Newsletter

With your support, Campaign for Accountability is working to expose corruption and hold the powerful accountable.

This Week's Updates:

TTP Report Exposes Large X Premium Accounts Used by White Supremacists
Yesterday, CfA’s Tech Transparency Project (TTP) released a report examining how white supremacists with X Premium accounts are seizing on the Israel-Hamas conflict to amplify antisemitism, Islamophobia, and broader anti-immigrant hate narratives on the platform. By paying $8 a month, “X Premium” users can enjoy increased amplification and, in some cases, revenue sharing – meaning that certain white supremacist accounts may be profiting from their activity on X. TTP’s research uncovered several white supremacist accounts with large followings, including one called “Anti White Watch” which had accumulated an audience of over 174,000 users. Using the Israel-Hamas conflict as a springboard, these accounts worked to circulate the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, claiming that Jewish organizations and individuals had orchestrated a plot to replace white-majority populations with non-white immigrants. Naturally, the Great Replacement theory also indulges in anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric, and has inspired a number of mass shooters who have targeted Muslim, Jewish, and Black communities.

The evening before TTP’s report was released, X owner Elon Musk endorsed a Tweet claiming that “Jewish communities” push “dialectical hatred against whites,” and support “hordes of minorities” entering “their” countries. Musk went on to accuse the ADL of engaging in “anti-white racism,” which was one of the terms that TTP used to identify white supremacist accounts on X. TTP’s research was covered by Vice, in an article that included Musk’s comments.

Crypto Industry Challenges Terrorist Financing Allegations in House Hearing
On Wednesday, a panel of witnesses appeared before the House Financial Services committee to defend the crypto industry against allegations of enabling terrorist financing – an issue that has attracted attention in light of Hamas’s use of digital currencies to receive large sums of money from Iran. As Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA-32) adroitly pointed out, though, four of the five witnesses worked for businesses which rely on the continued existence of the crypto ecosystem, with the sole exception being Alison Jimenez, president of Dynamic Securities Analytics, Inc. With that in mind, it’s not surprising that pro-crypto narratives dominated the hearing, with witnesses attempting to cast doubt on the true prevalence of crypto terrorist financing and pointing to the role of digital assets in raising funds for Ukraine. When pushed by Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL-11), crypto-aligned witnesses conceded that, using unregulated offshore exchanges, bad actors are currently more than capable of laundering money and avoiding US sanctions.

Unfortunately, offshore exchanges are only part of the problem. Last week, CfA urged Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to investigate the role of US-based crypto company Circle in the financing of terrorist operations. Circle issues its USDC stablecoin on multiple foreign cryptocurrency exchanges, including one which was targeted by Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing. By issuing its currency on these under-regulated exchanges, Circle appears to be enabling “chain hopping” – a practice which the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network identifies as a means of money laundering. Within the past month, the agency has indicated that it may use powers granted to it by the Patriot Act to regulate these suspicious, high-risk crypto transactions.

FTC Cracks Down on Undisclosed Influencer Sponsorships
According to Nicole Andrew’s website, she’s an “oncology dietitian” who offers health coaching to cancer survivors and individuals concerned with avoiding carcinogens in their food. She has over 158K followers on Instagram, where she shares recipes for “anti-cancer smoothies” and “berry cancer prevention sweet snacks.” Now, Andrews is one of several influencers in hot water with the FTC for posting dietary videos on Instagram and TikTok that were paid for by the American Beverage Association (ABA), in which she minimized cancer risks associated with the artificial sweetener aspartame. The FTC’s letter to Andrews noted that some of her videos did not include any disclosures to clarify the material connection between herself and the ABA. This agency action follows the release of updated influencer guidelines in June, which warned creators that a platform’s built-in ad disclosure tools may not be “clear and conspicuous” enough to sufficiently inform users about the nature of an endorsement. Going forward, the FTC has indicated that influencer disclosures will have to be just as visible as their paid statements, meaning a verbal endorsement must be accompanied by a verbal disclosure.

What We're Reading
Ethics watchdog rats out Circle for links to Tron in letter to Senators Warren, Brown
Leonard Leo’s firm got nearly $500K from conservative nonprofit, tax filing shows
5 takeaways on the sprawling, scathing Santos ethics report

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Be on the lookout for more updates about our work in the upcoming weeks. Thanks again for signing up to be a part of CfA!

Sincerely,

Michelle Kuppersmith
Executive Director, Campaign for Accountability

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